internal, external, individual, shared, in place, in movement, with friends, with family, with lovers, with strangers, with soul mates, with teachers, with guides, in body, in formlessness, through fire and heat, with rains and oceans, with breezes and storms, under the stars and the moon and the sun and the planets, with dust and dirt and mud, with flowers and butterflies, with arousing smells, in mind, in the heart, in the soul, in spirit, in this life time, in past life times, through time, in timelessness, in laughter, in tears, with screams of joy fear and pain, in silence, linear, clear, vague, zigzag, full of curves, with tons of detours, with a purpose, without a destination...
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Although i freaked out plenty, and nisarga some, about not finding someone to stay with in Amsterdam... of course it worked out just fine at the last minute. And when i say last minute i mean during the last 24 hours. We found a hostel on line the night before leaving, located in the center of town, for 29€ including taxes. As it turned out there were no taxes because it was an illegal place without a sign even, but we didnt care a bit. We had a comfortable bed in a quite and clean room. The next day we moved to Arthur’s place. He is a friend of guess who?... Anita!!! She wins the lifetime achievement award for rescuer and saviour hands down. Mother Theresa had nothing on her. Artur was leaving town for a couple of weeks and said we could stay at his place while he was out. He gave us keys and instructions and went on his way. We were left with food in the fridge, a beautiful and spacious loft right in front of a canal, also very centrally located, internet, a piano and a terrace. Wow!!! What a way to start our Europe trip this summer.
We had amazing cheese and made yummy salads and sandwiches. We checked email and talked on skype. We did yoga and lingered around in bed. And very seriously wondered why in the world we were not staying on in Amsterdam until June 6th, the day before Arthur was due to return. Family commitments! Dam them.
nisarga discovered he MUST have been a musician, a very good one, in a previous life. He sat at the piano and started playing. And playing and playing and playing. It sounded good and lasted for over an hour. Amazing!!! He had already done this at the end of April with a wooden flute in India. Wow!!!
We walked and walked and walked. It was chilly but we put on all our layers and explored. It really helped that it was bright by 5am and dark only at 1030pm!!! So much daylight... the possibilities are endless. Well, ok, a bit more limited since we didnt leave the house until 3 or 4 or 5pm, but still. Nisarga was eager to checkout the red light district and do some window shopping, by day and night. Apparently it had left a big impression on some of his friends back in the UK. As far as the world renowned Van Gogh museum, the tulips which were in full blossom (it’s only season for 2 months), or a cruise along the canals... um... we skipped all that actually. Instead we bought a joint at the cafe shop and ... well, actually, the rest of the day was quite a haze. After hours of wondering around, we somehow made it back home... thankfully. We learned our lesson however. The next day we took our J to go! After walking around, watching people wizz by on boats or bikes mostly, and saying good bye to the city we went home to arthur’s, made a yummy dinner, and smoked on the terrace. We watched the clouds above us and described what we saw.
It was Nisarga’s first time in Amsterdam and my second. We loved it. Nisarga even said it’s a city he could live in. I was amazed how pedestrians, bikers, baby carriages (the city seems to be full of todlers), cars and trams all shared the same space... without any accidents or horns! How refreshing.
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