Amsterdam and the road to Reality

We arrived in Amsterdam from Madrid a little nervous as our visas had been expired for 6 months. We had originally planned on taking the train from Madrid through France to Amsterdam, but after an unexpected border control encounter between France and Spain, during which we were sure we were going to be deported (we were not), we decided to stay in Spain until just a couple of days before we were scheduled to head home. At least that way if we had another issue we could show that we were leaving in a couple of days anyway. There are not supposed to be any border controls between Spain and The Netherlands as they are both part of the Schengen area, but then again there were not supposed to be any between France and Spain either. Thankfully there were no problems and we got to Amsterdam as smooth as possible.

It was kind of shocking going from what Madrid calls “Winter” to the freezing ass cold, dark at 4:30 Winter they have in The Netherlands. Our style of just wandering around and picnicking is less practical when it is 20 degrees with 98% bone chilling humidity. We still did our fair share of walking all over the city, but we walked much faster and took lots of coffee breaks (yes actual coffee, not coffeeshops).   We also went the the Anne Frank house which was very interesting as well as sobering.

Amsterdam, along with Venice and Prague made it into our top three favorite cities. Even though it is a big city, it feels very quaint. There are about 10 bikes for every car, canals lined with canal houses from the 1600s and hundreds of bike lined bridges. Of course there are also hookers in backlight lit lingerie and porn filling the windows, but that’s only in the red-light district (well mostly). The red-light district was seedy but on a very touristy level. It was interesting to walk around but the novelty wore off fast and we were eager to head back into one of the quaint residential neighborhoods.

Coffeeshops are as plentiful as Starbucks are in America, but sell a slightly different product. While you could get coffee, they are really there to sell pot. While it is not technically legal, the Netherlands government makes a distinction between hard and soft drugs and allows licensed coffeeshops to sell marijuana as well as allows people to smoke it anywhere. This just means that a good chunk of the city smells like a Grateful Dead concert.

We were only in Amsterdam for three nights. Time flew by and before we knew it, we were at the airport on our way home. Of course first we just had to get through this whole expired visa situation. When we went through the border control to leave they asked how long we had been in Europe. We did not want to lie and get in over our heads so we answered an honest nine months. The agent explained that we were only allowed three months and said we would have to go with his colleague. His colleague, a Dutch cop, led us into the airport police station and told us to have a seat. Of course we were shitting bricks. Our fears eased up quickly as all the Dutch police in the office were our age, laughing and joking with each other, putting ungodly amounts of sugar in their coffee and whizzing around in their whirly chairs. They were also chatting us up about our trip, and when they found out we entered Europe through Amsterdam, apologized that no one told us of the three month limit to our tourist visas. As it ended up they said they had to write a report on us. It was not up to them whether it would get filed or not and if someone (we are not sure who) does file it we may or may not get put on an unwanted alien list for 3 years. So worst case we cannot go back to Europe for three years. A bummer but totally worth it and no regrets! I would be shocked if we had the money to return to Europe in that time anyway!

We have now been back in America for one week. Lisa is in Michigan visiting Family until the new year and I am living with the parents in Arvada until we can move back to Boulder in January. It is defiantly an adjustment going from seeing a new, foreign place every couple days to living in a very suburban suburb. The thing that has annoyed me the most is being able to understand everyone else’s dumb ass conversations. I’m sure they are talking about the same stupid things in Europe, but at least I can’t understand it. Of course the hardest part is being away from Lisa as we had not been apart for more than an hour since May! We have plenty to keep us busy though, both starting businesses, planning a wedding and finding a place to live! Back to reality.

Mas Espana!

On the road again for our last couple of weeks we decided to get some climbing and warm weather in before heading north. We had flown into Madrid from Mallorca and spent just one night there before heading south to the Costa Blanca for some tower climbing. There was no train to Calpe, the town where the climbing was, so we had to take a train to Valencia and then a 3 hour bus (to go just 60 km) from there to Calpe. On the bus we went through one tourist nightmare city after another. They were all built up with high-rise condo buildings for the Germans and Brits, one leading into the next like the sprawl on the front range. This was by far our least favorite part of Spain. Calpe was a little better because at least there was an old part to the city, and more importantly it had the Peñon de Ifach, a thousand foot limestone tower rising straight out of the sea. The whole reason we came of course! Unfortunately it never stopped raining long enough to climb it. Instead we hiked up the descent trail to the summit (better than nothing) and climbed one short route at the base it a short break in the weather.

After our soggy non-climbing experience we had a really long (15 hour) day of travel to Granada. Again its not all that far but we had to go all the way back to Madrid, do a 180 and head back to the south. When we were in Andalucia before, everyone asked if we had been to Granada, when we said no they all said we had missed out. They were right. Granada was absolutely beautiful, a white Moorish city at the base of the snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains. It is also home to Flamenco and the Alhombra. The Alhombra is a Moorish (Arab) palace that is the most ornate thing I have ever seen. Ever inch of interior wall is covered in intricate carvings and tiles. The outside is covered with elaborate gardens with perfect views of the city below. As well as seeing the Alhombra and getting harassed by Gypsies with herbs we took in some culture at a Flamenco bar. We went into the bar which was actually a cave under the buildings that was just big enough to squeeze 30 to 40 people into. When the show started we were surprised that it was all men. We did not even know men could do Flamenco but they were unbelievable. Some chanted while another did a combination of what I would think of as Flamenco, tap and stomping. The show totally blew us away! 

After Granada we headed back to one of our favorite previous climbing destinations, El Chorro. When we got there we started walking to a cottage that we had booked. It ended up being way outside of town and far from the climbing. Whats more, when we arrived there didn't seem to be anyone working there. Finally we saw a lady and asked if she worked there and she informed us that she had until last week, when her husband kicked her out. We had seen enough and headed back into town. We ended up staying in the same exact cabin that we had the previous visit. We had three days there and spent the first 2 climbing in some of our favorite spots from before and spent the last hiking in the rain. 

For our last stop in Spain we had a five day stint in Madrid. Since we had five days we were able to take things at a much more relaxed pace; having lots of coffee and chocolate with churros dates. We did our usual walking all over the city but also had time for some shopping (first time on the whole trip!) and made it to a climbing gym. Overall Madrid was a really nice city and most people seemed nice. Also we were finally able to get some good Spanish practice in because they speak very clear Spanish there. The city was nice but nothing stood out as spectacular to me. Our favorite part was getting mulled wine and roasted sweet potato at the market. It was also really nice having Christmas lights and trees everywhere and everyone in the Christmas spirit, running around shopping.

At one point Lisa thwarted a pickpocket attempt. We were coming home from the climbing gym on the subway. I had our climbing pack so I looked like a backpacker. We got on the train that was so packed we were surprised to see someone cram in behind us. The guy who packed in behind us had his coat thrown over his arm so you could not see his hand. The train was so packed that we had to hold on to the bar above our heads, exposing our torsos. Just as we were pulling into the next stop Lisa felt the zipper to her jacket pocket open. She quickly put her hands down and covered her pockets. Knowing he had been caught the guy with the jacket cleared his throat awkwardly and nervously ran off the train. It was a good thing Lisa was so fast because there was an iPhone in her jacket pocket (usually a safe place) that he was going for! It was a fluke because usually I have the phone!
I guess that just shows we have to be diligent until the very end! We had fun in Madrid but were happy to move on to our last city: Amsterdam!

Publish Post