Amsterdam has a very strange vibe about it. It’s a very relaxed and comfortable city, but at the same time somewhat pathetic. The problem lies somewhere between a lame obsession with legalized drugs and the red light district. But apart from certain people’s priorities, Amsterdam really is a beautiful city. After riding into town, I went straight to the tourist information office to look for a place to sleep. It was there where I met Sonia, Pilar, and Pere – three Catalans off traveling through Holland. Catalans love to travel and it’s hard to voyage anywhere in Europe without running into some. These three stooges were great fun and we ended up spending most of our time exploring Amsterdam together. I was especially useful when they found a boot on their car and my English came in handy talking their way out of a huge fine at the police station. Other than our exciting run-ins with the law, we explored the Van Gogh Museum, hopped on a few trams, crossed the grid of canals that define the city, learned about Amsterdam’s deep rooted Jewish history by means of a Portuguese synagogue and the Ana Frank house, and searched for some good space cake in one of the many “coffee shops” to no avail. I also explored many of the local parks and pubs with my new Dutch friends Annemarie and her sister Margot (a lovely pair). A good time was had by all. My train was preparing to leave in an hour or so and I found, in the back of my head, a nagging curiosity beating the stuffing out of my moral fiber. Upon my arrival in Amsterdam, I had never so much as experimented with any drug stronger than aspirin (OK, maybe ibuprofen a couple times, but I’ve stopped cold turkey). Call it curiosity and forgetting what it did to that poor cold cat (he probably had it coming to him) I decided to set off on another adventure. With glowing recommendation from my friend Bob (thanks Bob) I make a quick stop at a little coffee shop to pick up some Space Cake. To my dismay there was no Space Cake, but the kind gentleman behind the counter suggested a Space Brownie instead. I kindly thanked him, bought myself a chocolate Space Brownie and a cup of vanilla tea, consumed my pre-boarding snack, and set off for the train station. What a strange sensation of anxiousness, wonder and curiosity came over me as I took my seat in the crowded car. What would happen to me? Would I notice when it started? Would anyone else notice? I think I was about 15 minutes outside of Amsterdam when I faintly noticed a grin slowly creep its way onto my face. The grin soon blossomed into a full-blown smile that I couldn’t seem to hide. I may have even giggled. My neck transformed into a heavy rubber spring that couldn’t seem to support the now cumbersome weight of my head, which was bouncing between genius, foolishness, and paranoia. So I allowed my over-active mind to gently lean back and observe the blurred passing landscape while I meticulously developed maybe three or four ingenious inventions to make everyday life easier. They were truly incredible. I honestly impressed myself. It’s a shame I can’t remember a single one. The transfer from the train to the plane in Brussels proved to be more challenging than I had expected – something to do with left versus right and an incompetent staff not knowing the difference between the two. Both the plane and I came down gently into Barcelona airport under the warm morning sun, marking the end of another fantastic voyage.