xxx files I

I screwed myself over yet again. I worked so much in the weeks that I had been back to work that I got sick as soon as I stopped. My entire vacation with Rach was spent slamming sinus pills, medinait, and ibruprofin. All I needed was a couple of days of rest and I would have been cured. Consequently, we didn’t stop until I dropped her off at the airport. We had a lot of fun together over the past week.

I picked her up at Fraport at 12.30 on Thursday the 15th. We dropped off her stuff at my apartment and then went food shopping. Later that afternoon I went for an electrolysis session that was unbelievably painful. I relaxed and cooled my injured face and neck for a while then we went to dinner. We had pizza at Antik Lokales and a couple of beers. I had a pizza with salami, pepperoni, and schaafskaese. The pizza was so greasy that I was awoken from sleep by really bad acid reflux. I felt so drained from the electrolysis session, bad idea.

We got ready to go on Friday after sitting around gabbing and drinking coffee. Our first stop was Kombinat to get our noses pierced. I have been wanting to do it for a while, and she mentioned that she wanted to do it too, so we did it. It was really painful at first, then it was ok. It felt strange for a few days afterward. The guy working at the counter was Bill, the singer of the band Bushfire. I had seen them at the Pillhuhn benefit concert at the Bessungener Knabenschule a few weeks ago. They rocked. I mentioned to him that I enjoyed their set, and he gave me a card with their next appearance info on it, April 14 at die Halle in Hanau. He said if I come he’ll buy me a beer. I told him I just may take him up on his offer. Rach got a pink stone, and I got an emerald green one. I felt a little off as we walking to the Kombinat, and as he was piercing my nose I felt a stream of blood run across my olfactory nerve which made my eyes water. From that moment on my sinus infection took hold. Afterwards we went to get our nails done. I am not very satisfied with the job they did. The woman who did my fill totally thinned out my natural nails until they were paper thin. They are holding up well so far, but I don’t think I will be going back to them.

We went shopping for a minute afterwards at H&M. I was feeling quite out of it at that point. We dropped the spoils off at my apartment and then headed to La Bodega to meet Mari, Christi, Yvonne, and Helmi for dinner. Rach got to meet all my friends and shared a paella with Mari and Christi. Helmi showed up late as usual. We had a great time and I was feeling a bit better. After dinner, Helmi went home and the rest of us walked over to the Pillhuhn for a few beers. The place was relatively full and various drunk men were coming on to Rach throughout the time we were there. She got a taste of the local culture as I live it. We stayed until about one thirty and then walked home.

We got up rather late on Saturday; I made pancakes and caramelized cracked pepper bacon to go with it. We got cleaned up and decided to go to Ffm to do some more shopping. While I was wiping my face with astringent, I caught my nose jewel and pulled it out and it fell right down the drain. I was already not having a good day being hung over and all, and this just put the icing on the cake. I took the drain apart and found a big old nasty hair clog in the making with no sign of my jewel. I dismantled more and then I found it. I sterilized it with alcohol and tried to get it back in. It took me a few tries and dropping it again, this time on the floor, to get it back in. I cleaned the hair clogs away and put the drain back together. I needed a break after that ordeal.

On to Ffm…I bought a pair of brown leather ballerina flats and Rach bought some Esprit sneakers. We went to H&M to have a look but they were getting ready to close. We went to the Thai imbiss near the parking garage to get some dinner. The restaurant was packed as usual. I felt better after eating something, then we went to Starbuck’s to get a coffee and to check out the DAX stock exchange. We drove back to DA and stopped at my apartment for a few minutes. Rach decided she wanted to see Amsterdam, so I booked a room at the Golden Bear for Monday and Tuesday. We went later to the Burrin Bar for their St. Patrick ’s Day party. As we drove by An Sibin, we could tell it was totally packed. The Burrin was full but still comfortable enough to enjoy a couple of Guinness while watching all the freaks. They had boiled dinner for sale, but we had eaten not so long beforehand.

We were extra lazy on Sunday morning into the early afternoon. We went for a ride into the Odenwald where the weather got ever worse. It was raining, sleeting and snowing all at the same time. We went to Hering for look around and then drove up to the Veste to check that out. We decided to try the restaurant there, the one that during the two years I lived there, never once ate there. Rach had the pork roast and I had the sauerbraten. The food and wine was really good. We hung out there for a couple of hours, and then we headed back to DA for the night. We went to bed early to get ready for the drive to Amsterdam.

I got up early Monday morning to go to my doc to get my shots and to get some more sinus medicine at the pharmacy. I had to reschedule my appointment with my doc for this coming week, since we would be in a’dam the next day. I got some pastries for breakfast and then we showered and got packed to go. The weather was decent for most of the ride through Cologne, Arnheim, and Utrecht. We found the Olympic stadium where there is also a park&ride. The stadium is a very good example of Art Deco architecture. Cool. The park&ride thing in a’dam is totally cheap, parking is 5.50 per day and a tram pass is included for an hour each way to get to your hotel. I would normally park at the central garage which costs about 25 euro per day, and it isn’t even as convenient. I prefer the train as my favorite mode of long distance transportation.

We arrived at the Golden Bear at around 7p. We asked at the reception if they could recommend a good place to eat close by. Alexander recommended Café Klos to us which was located across Leidsestraat on the same side as the hotel. We decided to try it, and we were glad we did. It is a no frills kind of place, but the enormous portions of ribs and steak turned out to be quite a feast. The staff was very friendly and the crowd was a mix of locals and foreigners. I ate my fill of ribs, salad, bread, and baked potato. We ventured up to Dampkring for a drink and a smoke. We were so tired from the drive and the large satisfying dinner that we decided to retire before long.

We got up and got ready to go fairly early and went down to breakfast. The big fat kitty was sleeping on the bench next to us. We walked up to Dam square and then on to Centraal Station and then over to Prinsengracht. We followed Prinsengracht down to the Ann Frank House. We wanted to go in, but it must have been a school field trip day because there were about a hundred elementary schoolers there. We decided to take some pictures from the outside and then move on. The weather had deteriorated slowly as the day went on. We decided to take a break for lunch at the Replay café. I had a soup and a sandwich and a glass of wine.

We decided to hop a tram to the Rijksmuseum. We got off at the wrong stop and had to walk across the wind and rain swept square in front of the museum. The weather was beginning to take its toll on me. We walked around the Rijksmuseum for a few hours looking at all the Rembrandts and various other historical items. I had wanted to go to the museum for quite some time, and I’m sure I will go there again in the future. We walked up to the Dampkring for something warm to drink and to relax for a moment. The blonde bartender I met in the bathroom last time was working. I still was wondering if she was coming on to me last time and if I was too dumb to realize it at the time. I went up and ordered our poison. I said hello and asked her what kinds of tea they had. She replied by asking me, “should I make you a nice one?” I said yes with a smile and anxiously awaited her custom concoction. She winked at me smiled as she served me the tea and coffee. She was definitely flirting with me that time. We hung out for a while and finished our drinks. The Bartender came to pick up our empty glasses and I thanked her for the wonderful tea. She winked and smiled at me again as we were leaving.

We proceeded to go back to the hotel to lounge for a little while. We were trying to decide where to go eat, and the only place I could think of was Getto. We got ready and ventured back out into the cold rain in search of vittles. We took a tram to Dam square and walked the rest of the way. The restaurant was fairly empty except for a group celebrating a birthday in a loungey nook near the dining area. I had a steak and Rach had a Mexican tortilla dish. The food was decent, but I am not I will go back there in the future. I finished my dinner off with a crème brulee and a coffee. Rach was quite wiped after dinner as we headed back to the hotel.

I was feeling ok still so I decided to go to Saarein II for a beer alone. There wasn’t much going on there, and it occurred to me as I was writing about the day’s events in my journal that the bartender at the Dampkring was probably still there. I left Saarein and walked over to Dampkring. She was still there. She greeted me with a wink and a smile again. I ordered an orange juice, since I didn’t feel like drinking anymore beer. I was getting ready to leave as she was cleaning up to get ready to close for the night. She moved the toaster away from the counter inside the bar directly in front of me. She began to chat with me and I said that I was on a short vacation there with my sister, and that I live in Germany. She asked what I do here; living and working, and then we began to bitch about having no life outside of work. I asked her name, T we’ll call her, and I told her mine. She offered to take me and my sister out to a party the next time we are in town. I said I would be back in the end of May and that I would look her up when I am back in town. She winked and smiled again as I was leaving. My intuition was right. I can’t wait till the next time I see her. I have a feeling we will end up getting together for dinner or something (I hope!). Every moment spent in Amsterdam is like a little gift to me. I love it there.

We got up at about eight on Wednesday and got showered, dressed and packed. We cleared out of the room and sat down for breakfast. We left our bags at the hotel for about an hour while Rach bought her nikes and we had a quick coffee stop. We got our bags and hopped a tram to get to the car to drive back. The drive home took way too long. We ran into traffic getting close to Cologne. I suggested that we could go to see the cathedral there and get some dinner. The wind and rain made it unbearable to stand there and look at it for more than five minutes. We decided to go and find some dinner, I remembered the little steak house that used to have a Barbie fountain at the front door. Now it is a shi-shi steak house, and no more Barbies. The prices were still decent though. The food was great and we were on our way again. The weather driving through the Taunus was a mix of snow and rain. That stretch of autobahn is treacherous even when it is dry. We made it out of that and home safely. We were both wiped out and ended up going to bed rather early.

Thursday ended up being quite a waste. It had started snowing in the early morning hours and continued throughout the day. We went to see Burg Frankenstein, which because of its elevation, was covered with wet snow. The snow made for some crappy sightseeing. We left there and drove to Heidelberg. It rained the whole time we were there, so we decided to duck into a café for something warm to drink and eat. We called it a wash and headed back to my apartment. I was feeling physically miserable and tired so we stayed in.

We were up and ready to go in time to go to Wal-Mart so Rach could get some chocolates and various haribo bears and such. We had an easy ride to the airport, and her check in took all of ten minutes wait. We went outside for a last smoke before she was to go through security. We said our sad goodbyes and she went in. I waited to make sure she got through ok, we waved to each other and then I left. I miss hanging out with her.

I went back home for a minute to get my grocery bags and then headed back to Wal-mart. I got what I needed there and then went to Alnatura, the pharmacy and Plus. I put all that stuff away and then I fueled up the rental and returned it. I rode my bike home and then fell into bed. Saturday was spent sleeping, eating, laundry, and sleeping again. I felt like I could sleep forever.

I feel a little better today, I was mostly lazy. I did get up the energy to shower since I can actually smell myself today, and I smelled like pie. It felt nice to shower, although I didn’t wash my hair. I ran out of tobacco so I walked to the store to bring back all my returnables and get some smokes. I did a bit more laundry today and made sure I ate well enough to get some strength back. I begin my new position tomorrow. I got an invitation to go to Graz for an interview with brand A in the middle of April. I accepted the invitation and I am waiting to get the details per email. I am dreading going back to work tomorrow. Oh well, it is time once again to make my bed and then fall into it so that I can sleep and dream of sweet Dutch girls.