In the middle of my first night in the capital, campground security tossed out a camper (against his loud and lengthy protests) who had climbed the fence for some free camping. The next morning I woke up to the sound of coughing in all of the tents around mine, with a haze of funny smelling smoke rising from the tent meadow. The campground was like the one in Paris in the sense that everyone had to camp within feet of each other due to the multitude of tents. The swarms of campers clogging the tent meadow - judging by the morning routine - seemed to be paying Amsterdam a visit with one purpose in mind. I went into the city, crossing the large canal by way of the free ferry, and paid a visit to the Van Gough Museum. Afterwards, I wandered around the city until dark. In my random wanderings I happened upon the house in which Anne Frank´s family hid, which was actually fairly close to the center. It was strange to stare at the brick facade and to think that she had actually lived there only sixty some years ago, and that although Europe had radically changed, the house itself was still there, probably looking just as it had then. (9/12/04)

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Random Amsterdam Intersection