Sailen Oon Da Poezenboat

Our trip began bleary eyed, stumbling through the city in a jet lagged daze. The local liquor project began with a bottle of Jenever that we purchased from a corner store. Jenever is the traditional spirit of Belgium, Netherlands, and Northern France. Like Bourbon and Champagne, it can only be designated as Jenever if it it produced in select counties in these regions, making it a truly local phenomenon. Juniper flavored, it is the precursor to herb-heavy liquors like English gin.

After sampling a bit before venturing out to watch some soccer, we packed the rest in our bag and shared it with some fellow travelers in need of a sleep aid the next day. I can't say we really splurged on the good stuff - apparently Jenever can be quite enjoyable in the proper context - but the majority of the group found the stuff nearly unpalatable, some bastard mix of rum and table wine. Not that it stopped us...anything seems drinkable
after four Natty saturated years in college.

Amsterdam, though a bit touristy, was a lot of fun. We biked through town checking out the parks and museums and happened upon an advertisement in the tour book for a floating feline sanctuary. As visions of Charlie, wildcat aficionado, being mauled by a pack of mangy alley cats danced through my head, we arrived to find some lame ass pet shelter with some lame ass cats not one of which attempted so much as a swipe at old Chuck. Apparently they hadn't been told how much he appreciates a good scratching.

After some misadventures on the train to Hallstatt, where we lost Andrew and then my baggage, we arrived intact to the Alpine utopia of our next destination. Hopefully I can figure out how to post pictures, as words hardly do it justice. And now, time for a nap. Steve OUT