Wheeled suitcases don't like Amsterdam

14.05.2015

When you're feeling jetlagged nothing goes right for you, everything comes with extra complications, and you find yourself staggering through the streets like a drunken zombie. So it was with me as I fueled up with very strong coffee at Schiphol airport and eventually on the third try found a ticket, and the right platform, and a standup only crowded train to Amsterdam Central. After I found out that I had 12 hours to kill until my host would be home from work to let me into my room, I came up with the idea of walking the kilometer from the railway station in Amsterdam to the very modern public library complex ( the Bibliotique)to find a comfortable spot to while away a few hours reading magazines and relaxing in their ubermodern comfortable chairs. I had done my research and knew that on the top floor they had a great cheap cafe that catered to students and that the terrace had lovely views over Amsterdam. What I didn't research was that they didn't open the doors until 10 a.m, and I turned up at 8 a.m. I'd already spent half an hour pushing my suitcase over cobblestones, bricks, and broken pavers to get there, so I planted myself on the steps to stoically wait until it opened. From 9 a.m. I was joined in my vigil by half of the misfits and eccentrics in Amsterdam. It seems to be a popular place for a certain kind of person (film extras from Mad Max) to spend the day out of the elements . Most of them were students and when the doors opened there was a rush to find the best computer study spots throughout the building. My plan worked up to a point. The cafe was good, and had excellent views from the balcony. There were hundreds of magazines to read, and even an old guy came in off the streets to play beautiful classical melodies on the piano in the foyer for several hours. Unfortunately their ubermodern chairs, which looked amazing, were actually implements of torture that contorted the body into unnatural positions. I ended up sitting on the carpeted floor, leaning against a wall, and nobody bothered me. All things come to an end, and so I left the Bibliotique, and found a bus which took me to my lodgings. At 6.15 pm I took half a sleeping tablet which helped me sleep for 12 hours and wake up feeling normal again. Feeling normal is a good place to be after 2 days of travel....

The Bibliotique (fancy name for library)