Day 14 - Amsterdam

Had a great day yesterday. Managed to find my way to Anne Frank's house without too much trouble, and then after an hours queue I was in!

It was definitely worth the wait. I've been a big admirer of Anne Frank ever since I read her diary as a teenager, and getting to see the space she lived in while she wrote it was fascinating. Obviously it was also extremely moving and depressing at times, but the house/museum is laid out in such a way that you're made to consider wider issues of social injustice and the concept of freedom as well as the personality and story of Anne Frank. V much recommended if you're ever in Amsterdam.

After a quick falafel lunch I hopped on a ferry and crossed the waters to The Eye film institute where I went to a Stanley Kubrick exhibition. A bit of a change of pace to go from the emotional to the analytical, but a nice one. Was an excellent exhibition, with lots and lots of great props and costumes from his entire body of work. They had a big nuclear bomb prop from Dt Strangelove, but to my dismay it had a sign next to it saying "Please Do Not Ride The Bomb". Awww.

It turned out that with an exhibition ticket you could get a discount on a film. So I went out to one of Ansterdam's fine coffee shops for a quick bit of relaxation, then I went to see 2001 on a huge screen with quadraphonic sound.

It was great! Definitely the best way to see the film. It was all a bit overwhelming at times.

Right, I've got a train to Brussels to catch at 14:13, then soon after a Eurostar to St Pancras. See you later, London!

Day 12 - Amsterdam

Woop! Finally made it. I'm staying in a campsite about 3km from the city centre in a v small town called Zonderdorp. It's very strange, 30 minutes on the bus from a bustling city centre and I'm out in some tranquil rural paradise with cows and goats and whatnot.

The campsite itself is some kind of alternative commune. There's yurts and tepees, and many interesting and, to be frank, stoned people about. It's a bit like being at Glastonbury without the music.

I've made friends with these two old Russian guys called Yuri and Alex. I met them when they were playing chess and drinking vodka. We all had a drink and a smoke together and collectively put the boot into Yeltsin (and at one point Brezhnev, but I was a bit out of my depth there). So it's all very pleasant stuff, nice that the last place I camp is probably the friendliest.

I had a good look around Amsterdam yesterday. It is, obviously, lovely. Im sure I must be the last person I know never to have been before. I sat around drinking Amstell, eating falafel and listening to jazz music.

Today I'm heading for Anne Frank's house, and then afterwards to cheer myself up there's an exhibition of Stanley Kubrick props on.