Amsterdam Interlude

For many reasons - and some I still can't quite account for - I decided I didn't want to continue the trip in the same way that it had been going. I wanted this to be an adventure of the highest order and going through a set list of locations and seeing mainly tourist sights wasn't really cutting it for me. As soon as I knew that Carla was going to join Lizzie on the rest of her trip, it opened the door for me to take off. I grabbed this opportunity and ran with it, not having any idea where I was going to end up. And this is exactly how I wanted it. Since I had made some friends in Amsterdam and also wished I could have stayed longer in the first place, it made all the sense in the world to go back. Also, if I hadn't had a chance to ride a bicycle in Amsterdam I really hadn't experienced Amsterdam, had I?

So I returned to Amsterdam and had the most fabulous time hanging out. Over the course of the weekend I borrowed a bicycle and rode down to a huge park, made homemade burritos, spent a night engaged in philosophical discussion, stayed up all night long at a bonfire by a dock. Everything about this weekend was so wonderful and I met the most incredible people. It was exactly what I was looking for!

I would have stayed forever but I did want to explore a few more countries. And I figured I could always go back. Since I wanted to go to Prague and Lizzie was there alone I decided to meet her there. My first train to Prague was filled with bicycles, and it brought me to Berlin, where I had the best falafel sandwich of my life (yes, better than Israel). On my second train I befriended a guy from California who now lives in an Eco-Village in Budapest. We spent the ride talking, he shared his delicious vegan food with me, and we marveled over the crazy thunderstorm the entire ride to Prague.

[I found this fortune on the ground (I think in Berlin?). SO MANY strangers (although they're no longer strangers) have recently brought great meaning to my life.]