On the last day in Edam I wanted to revisit Amsterdam but my phone and bank card got in my way.
Standing on the bus from Edam to Amsterdam I tried to use my card to pay for the ticket, the only way to pay for a ticket in fact, but it wouldn’t go through. I got off the bus in panic and than remembered that I had a purchase declined the previous night when I went to add more minutes to my phone sim card. So now it is that I have no phone and no money. This began a long winded journey where I walked to the next town over to the bank(Edam has no bank) to try and convert cash to euro. This plan would have worked if there was a cash exchange in the bank in the town I’ve now walked to, the only cash exchange is in Amsterdam and I currently cannot get there. Finally, I asked to use the phone from the host that I was staying at and resolved the bank problem.
So, now begins my journey back to Amsterdam. It was late afternoon and I had a ticket for the Van Gogh Museum so that’s where I headed first. It is a good museum that follows the trajectory of Van Gogh’s life as represented by his art. I was surprised by the clarity of his painting, in pictures it always looks kind of muddy but in reality the brushstrokes are clear and defined. He had an admirably vision but was ultimately tortured by mental illness.
I greatly enjoyed the Netherlands and happily would visit again. The people of the Netherlands are by far the friendly folks I’ve met on my journey through Europe.
Next time I’ll be in Berlin, Germany. Guten tag.
Going East 