In Amsterdam

Amsterdam: Fragments of Freedom


An overnight boat, a cabin for two.

Bunk beds, a shower and a little sofa;

Luxury in miniature.


Beer and a book unravels the disguise of a solitary traveller.


Emerge at dawn:

The Hook of Hollandica.

Scrabble for tickets, for change.


Make friends over coffee.

Embark on a train

to Rotterdam.


CHANGE

then onwards to Amsterdam.


A city of canals,

of bikes,

of charm,

of grime.



Well-connected waterways, a map-maker's dream.


Admire Van Gogh,

Dutch Master,

A deft painter.

Textured brushstrokes

Placemaker,

A troubled man.


Wander slowly to Vondelpark,

A linear greenspace.

City dwellers on mass:

Bikes on parade.


Stop for beer,

a smoke,

then eat-a-plenty.


An evening stroll back through sex streets.

SEX SELLS

Faded glamour.

Fake love in bad lighting


Sleep on a ship,

That doesn't move anymore.

Awake in a red bed,

With a dry mouth

and a head full of ideas.



The Dancer


She snakes to the music.

A faded princess.

The light hides the lines, the scars,

the broken dreams.

Dance for your supper,

Entice, invite,

them in.

Money spins

It sucks her in

Happiness will follow.

You can be a star,

seize your moment

And enjoy.

But the eyes belie

a spirit in decline.

a jaded one with surface shine.



Tulips


Geometric lines

of colour

in square fields.



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I travelled on my own to Amsterdam. It's been a while since I travelled solo. I needed to recapture the freedom that comes from lone trips; the trepidation, the sense of adventure, the openness, the self-knowledge you acquire.

I took an overnight ferry from Harwich in Essex to the Hook of Hollandica. It takes roughly 7 hours. The boat left at 11.15pm. I was as excited about the journey as the destination.

We were woken to an announcement inviting us to breakfast one hour before we embarked. And so it was we arrived in Holland.

In the spirit of adventure I got chatting to a random in the complex quest for train tickets and we ended up taking the train together; suddenly we were travel buddies. I love the immediate intimacy that comes with such meetings.

Amsterdam was sunny, gritty, charming, little fragments jarring together to make a whole city. We walked for hours along the canals right to the southern end of the city. Despite the sunshine, I wanted to hit my original objective and we went to the Van Gogh museum. Such an interesting man - he only practiced for ten years and didn't begin painting til he was 28. I like the idea that talent need not be fixed. It always seems like such brilliance comes at a cost and he had his dark days. Eventually they subsumed him and he ended it at the tender age of 38. A shame indeed.

After our cultural overload we went to Vondelpark, a mass of people with a park on the side. It was Sunday and it seemed like the whole city (and their bikes) had spilled out into the park. Lovely. As was the afternoon nap.

We smoked a joint in a little cafe looking outside at the people looking in on us. It reminded me of a peep show. After that we were hungry so we ate an Indonesian banquet. Twenty five dishes in all!

It was a whirlwind that ended with a walk through the red light district. Aggressive energy, harsh lights and discomfort. We didn't hang about.

I slept in a permanently moored former freight ship and had breakfast with the brusque German owner, who scared me a lot initially, but warmed up.

It was then time to head back to port and the ferry home. Tired, but happy.