From way up on your cloud
Where you've been hiding out
Are you getting somewhere?
Or did you get lost in Amsterdam?
-Guster
Hey folks. You might be wondering why I'm posting a blog update when I'm supposed to be on a flight heading back to the U.S. Well s allow me to illuminate you. Shortly after my last post was published, the weather in Amsterdam started to turn to the cold, rainy temperate that I've grown accustomed to in Seattle's November-May season. By this point I had spent a couple of hours wandering around, walking from Amsterdam's Centraal Station (trained there from the airport) up to the Museum district, which is a few kilometers away. After the weather got bad, my first instinct was to say "fuck it" to Amsterdam and head back to the airport where I would be dry, but my wanderlust got the better of me and I decided to spend a few hours exploring Amsterdam and a few of its museums. Initially, I headed to the Van Gogh museum, since the last time I was in Amsterdam, I was a stereotypical 20-year old tourist who was high as a kite (Sorry, mom), so my memories of seeing Van Gogh are a bit surreal. The line this time was unreal...so I headed over to the nearby Rijksuseum, which (I think) I didn't see the last time around. I enjoyed the Rijks quite a bit...it was interesting after so much dogma-heavy Catholic art in Spain to see the more humanistic portraits of Vermeer and Rembrandt, culminating in The Nightwatch - which was just as impressive in person as I've been told it is by art teachers over the years. Since the weather was so bad, I decided to take a tram back to the station so I could catch a train back to the airport. The tram, bein in a touristy area during bad weather, was incredibly packed. I hopped on, and a few inutes later after being squished between a lot of people, I reached into my purse to grab some money to pay the trolley. That's when I realized my wallet was missing. Isearched frantically for a few mminutes, then hopped off the tram and ran back to the Rijksmuseum to see if I had lost it there somehow, even though pretty much every instinct I had at that point told me it had been stolen. My wallet contained not only my passport and 50 Euro in cash, but also my credit cards, my boarding pass for my flight the next morning, and the ticket for the airport locker in which my backpack was currently being stored. Yes, it was silly to carry all of that together at once, but I suppose after 35 days in all parts of Spain without any such incidences, I perhaps got lulled into a false sense of security in Amsterdam - which is supposedly MUCH safer than most places I've been in Spain. But, I suppose life imitates art, as the dude who got mugged in Amsterdam in Eurotrip (one of my favorite movies) should remind me. The receptionist pointed me toward a police station about 20 minutes away by walking. She told me I should take the tram, but I had about 5 Euro in pockets and I wasn't going to blow that on the tram since I had no idea what was going to happen to me. I made my way over to the police station, and the officer at the desk informed me that the American Consulate had closed 15 minutes ago, and there was nothing he could do. I asked him if I could make a report, and he said no, I had to come back tomorrow. After I insisted the Consulate would have an emergency line (and I'm pretty sure this qualifies) he sighed and went to look it up. I ccalled the American Consulate in Amsterdam (which was indeed closed) and the marine on duty patched me through to the American Embassy in the Hague. Praise Kanye for that woman, because at this point I was a nervous wreck. I had no money, nowhere to go, no identification, and a flight to catch at 10am the next morning. She called Kevin for me, since I had no way to make an international call, and explained the situation, helped us book me a hotel room for the night, and assured me that everything would be ok, I just needed to show up at the consulate the next morning to sorrt out an emergency passport. But I was definitely not going to make my flight.Thanks to her and Kevin, for letting me use his credit card information rather liberally over the last 24 hours, I got a room at the Amsterdam Marriott with access to room service so I could eat untilI got everything sorted out. I finally got a hold of myself while I was checking in, until the receptionist told me I had to give them some form of ID. I reitereated that everything had been stolen...EVERYTHING, and I had no ID. She told me I had to show her a police report, and I told her they wouldn't take one until the next morning. She kept telling me she couldn't let me check in, and at that point (though I had held it together pretty well up until that point) I totally broke down and just cried until the head of security came over and I explained my situation....then he convinced her to just let me check in, with the provision that I bring them a copy of the police report as soon as I secured one. This all only happened last night, but it feels like a month ago right now. Once I got up to my room, I cancelled my credit cards, talked to Delta to let them know I wouldn't be making my flight the next morning, then took a hot shower, crawled into the big, fluffy king-sized bed, ordered a club sandwich and fries from room service, and watched Inception in my room. It made a WORLD of difference. I felt completely normal again, and just accepted I wouldn't make my flight and at this point had done everything I could do. Ironically, it was probably the best night's sleep I've had the whole trip. No youth hostel bunk beds, or pension rooms opening up to a loud, raucus plaza. Just a quiet room and a thick comorter and English-language TV stations. It's really all a girl could ask for. That, and an awesome boyfriend who made all that happen. I seriously love you, boo! I woke up this morning and headed over to the American Consulate at 8:00 am. There was actually quite a long line, even though I thought I was getting there very early. Turns out, no less than 5 other Americans had their passports stolen the exact same day. One chick I met was supposed to be immigrating to Canada that morning, but her passport was stolen along with her backpack that contained all her immigration paperwork. So...I could have had it worse. Thankfully, we got skipped to the front of the line. They asked me for a police report too...I felt like I was going in circles. The police said I needed to talk to the consulate first, and the consulate wanted a police report to show some official offering of my identity. Security was pretty tight just to get into the building. I made it clear that I had nothing, and was prepared to break out the waterworks a bit, but they just let me fill out a form with all my vital info and admitted me. Then I filled out the paperwork, and had to pay $135 for an emergency passport. Thanks again to my totally understanding boyfriend, who let me wake him up at 1 am Seattle time to get his credit card authorization once again. They told me it would be tready by about 3pm, so I went to the police station, gave a full report to a very nice and funny officer named Martin (and got a copy to show the hotel), then headed back to my hotel and called Delta to see what flight I could get on in the next 24 hours now that I had an ETA on my passport. I spoke with a great manager who was horrified by my sob story, and got me on a flight for tomorrow morning without making me pay for any fare difference and waived the change-fee (provided I show my police report at the Delta check-in desk). This was such a huge relief for me, as I was sure I was going to be out a couple thousand dollars by buying a new last-minute ticket. I wish I could send that lady a fruit basket or something. I ordered some lunch and watched Eurotrip in my room (I thought I deserved a good laugh) then headed back to the consulate to pick up my passport. Now I officially have my passport, a ticket to go home tomorrow, and a comfortable bed to sleep in tonight. Yes, my time in Amsterdam has been a huge pain in the ass...but looking on the brightside of things, it's really only money after all. I'm taking out a shitload of debt over the next three years, so what's another $500 or so in the grand scheme of things? Plus, and I cannot understate the importance of this enough, this bed is ridiculously comfortable. I feel like a new woman. I was going to arrive home after spending two consecutive nights in an airport, sore and achy from that plus a month's worth of travelpains. Now I feel a bit refreshed. And it only added another day to my trip. The only part that really bums me out is losing my passport. I had so many stamps inside it Europe to my visas for Central and South Amercica and this trip...it makes me sad to lose all of that. I guess that's what pictures are for. I'm really glad they didn't steal my camera...that's for sure.
I know this has been kind of a rambling post, but I just wanted to reassure everyone that I'm ok, and I will be back home tomorrow. I will probably finish my thoughts on Spain one I'm home, and give an overview of Barcelona and Huesca, which were hugely fun because I got to meet up with some friends. I feel like I can't think about that part of my trip right now with the depth required to do that post justice, so I'll save it for later. All in all, a pretty solid trip. I can't wait to go home and talk to you all again.
Where you've been hiding out
Are you getting somewhere?
Or did you get lost in Amsterdam?
-Guster
Hey folks. You might be wondering why I'm posting a blog update when I'm supposed to be on a flight heading back to the U.S. Well s allow me to illuminate you. Shortly after my last post was published, the weather in Amsterdam started to turn to the cold, rainy temperate that I've grown accustomed to in Seattle's November-May season. By this point I had spent a couple of hours wandering around, walking from Amsterdam's Centraal Station (trained there from the airport) up to the Museum district, which is a few kilometers away. After the weather got bad, my first instinct was to say "fuck it" to Amsterdam and head back to the airport where I would be dry, but my wanderlust got the better of me and I decided to spend a few hours exploring Amsterdam and a few of its museums. Initially, I headed to the Van Gogh museum, since the last time I was in Amsterdam, I was a stereotypical 20-year old tourist who was high as a kite (Sorry, mom), so my memories of seeing Van Gogh are a bit surreal. The line this time was unreal...so I headed over to the nearby Rijksuseum, which (I think) I didn't see the last time around. I enjoyed the Rijks quite a bit...it was interesting after so much dogma-heavy Catholic art in Spain to see the more humanistic portraits of Vermeer and Rembrandt, culminating in The Nightwatch - which was just as impressive in person as I've been told it is by art teachers over the years. Since the weather was so bad, I decided to take a tram back to the station so I could catch a train back to the airport. The tram, bein in a touristy area during bad weather, was incredibly packed. I hopped on, and a few inutes later after being squished between a lot of people, I reached into my purse to grab some money to pay the trolley. That's when I realized my wallet was missing. Isearched frantically for a few mminutes, then hopped off the tram and ran back to the Rijksmuseum to see if I had lost it there somehow, even though pretty much every instinct I had at that point told me it had been stolen. My wallet contained not only my passport and 50 Euro in cash, but also my credit cards, my boarding pass for my flight the next morning, and the ticket for the airport locker in which my backpack was currently being stored. Yes, it was silly to carry all of that together at once, but I suppose after 35 days in all parts of Spain without any such incidences, I perhaps got lulled into a false sense of security in Amsterdam - which is supposedly MUCH safer than most places I've been in Spain. But, I suppose life imitates art, as the dude who got mugged in Amsterdam in Eurotrip (one of my favorite movies) should remind me. The receptionist pointed me toward a police station about 20 minutes away by walking. She told me I should take the tram, but I had about 5 Euro in pockets and I wasn't going to blow that on the tram since I had no idea what was going to happen to me. I made my way over to the police station, and the officer at the desk informed me that the American Consulate had closed 15 minutes ago, and there was nothing he could do. I asked him if I could make a report, and he said no, I had to come back tomorrow. After I insisted the Consulate would have an emergency line (and I'm pretty sure this qualifies) he sighed and went to look it up. I ccalled the American Consulate in Amsterdam (which was indeed closed) and the marine on duty patched me through to the American Embassy in the Hague. Praise Kanye for that woman, because at this point I was a nervous wreck. I had no money, nowhere to go, no identification, and a flight to catch at 10am the next morning. She called Kevin for me, since I had no way to make an international call, and explained the situation, helped us book me a hotel room for the night, and assured me that everything would be ok, I just needed to show up at the consulate the next morning to sorrt out an emergency passport. But I was definitely not going to make my flight.Thanks to her and Kevin, for letting me use his credit card information rather liberally over the last 24 hours, I got a room at the Amsterdam Marriott with access to room service so I could eat untilI got everything sorted out. I finally got a hold of myself while I was checking in, until the receptionist told me I had to give them some form of ID. I reitereated that everything had been stolen...EVERYTHING, and I had no ID. She told me I had to show her a police report, and I told her they wouldn't take one until the next morning. She kept telling me she couldn't let me check in, and at that point (though I had held it together pretty well up until that point) I totally broke down and just cried until the head of security came over and I explained my situation....then he convinced her to just let me check in, with the provision that I bring them a copy of the police report as soon as I secured one. This all only happened last night, but it feels like a month ago right now. Once I got up to my room, I cancelled my credit cards, talked to Delta to let them know I wouldn't be making my flight the next morning, then took a hot shower, crawled into the big, fluffy king-sized bed, ordered a club sandwich and fries from room service, and watched Inception in my room. It made a WORLD of difference. I felt completely normal again, and just accepted I wouldn't make my flight and at this point had done everything I could do. Ironically, it was probably the best night's sleep I've had the whole trip. No youth hostel bunk beds, or pension rooms opening up to a loud, raucus plaza. Just a quiet room and a thick comorter and English-language TV stations. It's really all a girl could ask for. That, and an awesome boyfriend who made all that happen. I seriously love you, boo! I woke up this morning and headed over to the American Consulate at 8:00 am. There was actually quite a long line, even though I thought I was getting there very early. Turns out, no less than 5 other Americans had their passports stolen the exact same day. One chick I met was supposed to be immigrating to Canada that morning, but her passport was stolen along with her backpack that contained all her immigration paperwork. So...I could have had it worse. Thankfully, we got skipped to the front of the line. They asked me for a police report too...I felt like I was going in circles. The police said I needed to talk to the consulate first, and the consulate wanted a police report to show some official offering of my identity. Security was pretty tight just to get into the building. I made it clear that I had nothing, and was prepared to break out the waterworks a bit, but they just let me fill out a form with all my vital info and admitted me. Then I filled out the paperwork, and had to pay $135 for an emergency passport. Thanks again to my totally understanding boyfriend, who let me wake him up at 1 am Seattle time to get his credit card authorization once again. They told me it would be tready by about 3pm, so I went to the police station, gave a full report to a very nice and funny officer named Martin (and got a copy to show the hotel), then headed back to my hotel and called Delta to see what flight I could get on in the next 24 hours now that I had an ETA on my passport. I spoke with a great manager who was horrified by my sob story, and got me on a flight for tomorrow morning without making me pay for any fare difference and waived the change-fee (provided I show my police report at the Delta check-in desk). This was such a huge relief for me, as I was sure I was going to be out a couple thousand dollars by buying a new last-minute ticket. I wish I could send that lady a fruit basket or something. I ordered some lunch and watched Eurotrip in my room (I thought I deserved a good laugh) then headed back to the consulate to pick up my passport. Now I officially have my passport, a ticket to go home tomorrow, and a comfortable bed to sleep in tonight. Yes, my time in Amsterdam has been a huge pain in the ass...but looking on the brightside of things, it's really only money after all. I'm taking out a shitload of debt over the next three years, so what's another $500 or so in the grand scheme of things? Plus, and I cannot understate the importance of this enough, this bed is ridiculously comfortable. I feel like a new woman. I was going to arrive home after spending two consecutive nights in an airport, sore and achy from that plus a month's worth of travelpains. Now I feel a bit refreshed. And it only added another day to my trip. The only part that really bums me out is losing my passport. I had so many stamps inside it Europe to my visas for Central and South Amercica and this trip...it makes me sad to lose all of that. I guess that's what pictures are for. I'm really glad they didn't steal my camera...that's for sure.
I know this has been kind of a rambling post, but I just wanted to reassure everyone that I'm ok, and I will be back home tomorrow. I will probably finish my thoughts on Spain one I'm home, and give an overview of Barcelona and Huesca, which were hugely fun because I got to meet up with some friends. I feel like I can't think about that part of my trip right now with the depth required to do that post justice, so I'll save it for later. All in all, a pretty solid trip. I can't wait to go home and talk to you all again.
Till next time!
A-bear
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