I have stooped to a new low.  You may be asking, "What about Ana?"  She would be disappointed in me, that’s what.  Why?  Reasons. Complicated reasons.  Californication is playing in the background, and I am very content.  Why? I am sitting in a KFC in The Hague, typing on my PDA while somebody speaks to me in another language about it.  How disappointing.

We arrived on the 14th at about 11:30 p.m.  The train ride took a while, with a few transfers and one delay attributed to "air conditioning."  I could live with it. Well…

Phew!  It is now the 18th, and a lot has happened since that "well."  Let me backtrack to where I was.

We had to switch trains. Another great story!

Back to the story.  We arrived rather late, and all the hostels and hotels were full.  Another traveller joined us in looking for a hostel, but we had no luck.  A man approached and asked whether we needed a place to stay. We did, although the arrangement seemed questionable.  When we encountered him again, we eventually agreed.  We stayed at his apartment for about 30 euros each.  It was expensive, but we had to sleep somewhere.  The next morning we left, checked our bags at the airport, and wandered around the city.  We walked through the red-light district, but Amsterdam was not really my city. People were smoking weed everywhere, and it simply wasn’t my scene.  At about 6:30 that evening, I boarded a train to The Hague, where I had reservations and everything.  I checked into my expensive hostel and left immediately.

Which brings me to KFC.  As I was finishing the earlier "well," two men started speaking English with me, and we chatted for a while.  They were very kind and offered to take me on an unofficial official tour.  We walked through the main part of town, saw the government buildings, and visited the embassy district.  It was quite a good tour.  We ended up at one of their flats and had a few beers.  Luckily, one of them was a computer enthusiast like me, so we talked about technology for a while, which always brings people together.  They asked whether I was going to the fireworks they had mentioned earlier. I said I would try to make it, and they invited me to join them.  We boarded a crowded tram to the pier, made our way through thousands of people, and sat on the beach.  Sweden’s display began at 10:00 and the Netherlands’ at 11:00 as part of a European fireworks competition.  The displays were amazing. Between them, we visited a casino, where they both won a little money.  After the second display, we wandered to a bar, ordered drinks, and finished them quickly.  I ended up running back to the hostel because of its 1:00 a.m. curfew.

The next day I woke fairly early, found a grocery store, ate, returned to the hostel, and slept for the entire afternoon.  I woke at 8:00 p.m., got ready, and met Rene and Sytze at 9:00.  We had a few more beers and returned to the beach for another fireworks display. Afterward, we drank a considerable amount of vodka.  Eventually we returned to their apartment, met some of their friends, and had a few more beers. They smoked some hash, we laughed, and Rene fell asleep. Later, Sytze gave me a lift back on his bicycle.  The next morning I woke early to the sounds of another guest, packed my things, and checked out.  I took a train to Rotterdam, where I arrived an hour and a half later. I walked around, took a few pictures, then returned to Amsterdam and boarded an overnight train to Copenhagen.  I shared a compartment with two people from Portugal and a couple from Sweden.  Now I am in Copenhagen, about to go cycling. Goodbye!