The week after dropping off the van was totally crazy!  I plowed thru some work, finished some home repairs, and finally packed for the flight to Tallinn.  Crazy busy, but managed to get it all done before departure.

The flight plan was MSP to Chicago, then Stockholm, and finally Tallinn.  I was very worried, as the time between flights was very tight, but to my pleasant surprise, not a hitch!

I had just enough time to get from plane to plane at each stop, and little if any waiting to fly.  It was the smoothest trip yet.

I arrived in Tallinn totally jet-laged and tired, as the flight was not sleep-worthy.  I was so happy to see Epp standing at the exit of the gate area!!  I’ve got a friend here!!  We hugged hello, and started to share details as we walked towards the exit and met Marko!! 

Another friend!  I am so lucky!!  Two wonderful people to pick me and all my tons of stuff up at the airport!  Life is indeed very good!!

It was early, about 10:30am and I knew I had to stay awake for the rest of the day to break the jet-lag grip, so I was eager to accept his offer and join Marko for a workout at the local health club!!  What a great guy to offer me this!  You know so well how to make me a happy camper!!

Tired as I was, I still managed a nice hour and a half session on the elliptical trainer, weights, and cable machines, along with a short session of foot-bag!  What a great way to start my life in Estonia!  A great sweaty workout!  Marko, I love you man!!  Aitah. Aitah. Aitah!

With the exercise complete, it was time to move on to the remainder of the day.  Epp had been out with Marko’s Chevy Tahoe, (SWEET WINDSURER RIDE!!) and called us before picking us up out front.  What amazing friends I have here!  I just really appreciate the both of you!

I found out from Epp that Mirjam was in town, and was ready to take me to the farm for the first few weeks of my new life in Estonia!  I was so psyched!!  She is such a wonderful gal!  And we got along so well in our time together on the Greece trip, I knew this was gonna be fun.

Marko and Epp gave me a ride over to her and her cute little red car, and there was some concern I would not be able to fit myself and the four bags into it!  But after some seat reordering, and careful packing, we had it all stuffed in, and were off!

We stopped for some gas, and food (well, hotdogs for me anyway.. not really food…) and made the hour and a half drive west to Kassimosa, AKA the Hunt Farm!

Mirjam and I chatted up a storm for the entire trip, and I knew we were going to get along very well, as we shared awhile, and got to know each other better.  We laughed and even did some tiny amounts of crying, cementing our bond and becoming greater friends.  It was a very fun ride!

As I pulled up to the farm, I remembered why I was so psyched to get here!  It is so beautiful!  Wonderful forests, fields, and the charming old farm house I would be getting to know much better! (I will do a photo shoot later…)

I was tired, but stayed awake until almost 10pm, we chatted and shared a cherry flavored tobacco hookah, while Mirjam played guitar, and I accompanied her with the harmonica she had on hand.  What a very fun start to the life on the farm!

It was a great day, and I enjoyed it completely before hitting my bed offered by Mirjam for some desperately needed sleep!  Off to dream of the fun projects here that I will get to be working on!  Head ood!

Timo

With the van loaded and ready, I took the two day drive out to the east coast to drop it all off at the transit company for loading into a container, and on to the boat for the two week trip across the Atlantic!

I had perfect weather for the trip, and the drive was actually quite pleasant really.. I snapped a few shots along the way of the amazing United States we live in, and those are here:

After two days on the road, it was time to part with my kit, in hopes it makes it across the pond. (With the insurance, it would actually not be too bad if it all fell off the boat..)  I said my final goodbyes to the van and gear, and caught a cab to the JFK airport for my flight back to MSP.

The taxi driver informed me it would be over $100 to go from Elizabeth NJ to the airport, and he suggested a short trip to Newark airport instead, with a shuttle over to JFK.  This would be much less expensive, and almost as fast.

I took his advice, as I had a couple hours to burn anyway, and he dropped me off at the Newark terminal for a shuttle.

I picked the wrong line for the shuttle, and when I got to the ticket counter, it was too late, as the first shuttle had already left.  The ticket lady offered to see if the driver would come back for a pickup, and I took her offer.

She called the next terminal, to see if he had come buy yet, and he had not, so she was to send him back for me.  Very cool!  Much better than waiting for another hour, I thought.

He arrived shortly after this, in a downpour, and came in to pick me up.  We loaded my suitcase in and were off to JFK.

He got another call from dispatch, to stop for yet another passenger, and this was the breaking point for him.  He had only been working for a week or so, and was not happy with the lack of scheduling from dispatch!

He told them via the radio he had enough, and was quitting!  He said he was always on schedule, and these extra pickups were too much for him to deal with, so he stopped at Terminal ‘B’ and parked the van, grabbed his stuff, and left the three of us sitting there!!

The dispatch guy was still trying to talk him down, but it was too late, and the woman in the front seat had to take over the walkie-talkie and explain we were now stranded with no driver!

They assured us they would send someone right away, but we waited for at least an hour and actually got the 11am bus, nothing sooner.  What a mess!  I would have been better off taking the 11 o’clock to start with!

I did get to know my bus mates a bit more, and we shared the experience without too much trouble, and shared each other’s stories to pass the time.

Shortly after the new bus arrived, we were on to JFK, and in the queue for departures.  The heavy rain had delayed most of the flights, and mine was almost an hour behind schedule!  I guess I will miss my connection in Cincinnati!

After some rescheduling I did manage to get my missed flight changed, and on to Minneapolis, and only a few hours behind the planned arrival.

The following week was a flurry of activity getting all my work done, finishing some home projects, and making ready for my new home in Estonia for the next couple months.

I did not have a spare moment to get on the blog, and failed to post a single thing, but it was best to concentrate on the new life, and finish up some of the old.

More later….

Timo

I got the van and kit ready for departure, and just had to add a new board to the pile, so after some discussion with Marko, and a few reviews on the web, I selected a Tabou Rocket 115 Ltd from the online store, and it was delivered to Burnsville, a suburb south of the Minneapolis area, for pickup.

I drove down to get this and then set all my gear out for some photo inventory before departure.  I do have quite the pile of gear!  See below:                 

I also took a few photos of the homestead so you all can see how I used to live..  See the photos below:

The van fully loaded was about 4800 pounds!  That’s about a thousand pounds in stuff!!  Quite the load!  And it took a few days to get it all loaded in, and on the inventory list!  But I got all the paperwork in order, and worked with the transport service so I was ready for the weekend drive east to New York.

I planned on two days of driving and made the reservations for my flight back to MSP from JFK, as well as a hotel near Newark for the Sunday I was to arrive in NJ, so I could drop off the load Monday AM to the shipper.

This worked out well, and things went smoothly, so the next post will detail the trip.

Ciao!

Timo

Yo folks!

I heard Saturday was another great day of sailing, but I was busy, and couldn’t get out for the day.  This had me jonesin’ to grab a chance for another fine day of windsurfing here in Minnesota!

I check again and again and saw the weather maps were sayin’ it would be good for Sunday!!  Whoo Hoo!  So I seized the chance to get another day of sailing in!  I got the van loaded with lunch Sunday morning, and took off about 10-11 AM to the Wac!!

I really enjoyed the ride thru the country roads instead of the freeway, and actually took the time to let the beauty of the ride enter the eyes and head, instead of the typical rush to get there.  This was much nicer, and I really did enjoy the views.  We have a beautiful place here in Minnesota, as wonderful as any place I have been in my recent travels!!  (It looks just like Estonia!)  We are lucky folk!

As I pulled in the lot, I could see a dozen or so surf vehicles and found an empty spot for mine.  I chatted up those just off the water for the report, and figured it would be 5.7M and the 93 Lt 268cm Screamer again for me!!  Love the ‘small’ stuff!

I saw Rob rigging his 5.5M, and as he took this to the water, I remembered the camera, and took a shot of him, and of Don coming back in as well.  (I know, boring shore shots, but I am waiting for my waterproof case to come from Canon.)  See these below:

I rigged the sail correctly this time, and it was so much better!!  (You got to give the WindWings some downhaul!!)  And with this, I headed out to get me some ride!!

I remembered the camera and snapped a shot of the rigging area with my kit on the grass, and then asked a friendly Kiter to take a shot of me and my kit.  Evidence. See Below:

The kit was just perfect for the initial ¼ mile, but the wind was a fickle mistress today, and she made you work for it!!  I spent a fair amount of time shlogging, dunking, and waiting, but it filled in after a half-hour or so and ripped!

I had all I could handle with the 5.7 in the gusts!!  The board did its thing, and sliced thru the waves, and did some tail walking on the bigger gusts, but really sliced thru the stuff like butter!  Love that board!

I had some stellar port side jumps thru the afternoon, and ripped a handful of perfect jibes to boot!  The waves were sweet today in the 2-4ft range!   I made for some irresistible ramps to fly off of!  Don even witnessed one of my long floaters and was so kind to tell me about après session!!  (Thanks Dude!  I saw you rip some nice ones too!)  What an amazing afternoon!!

The wind was dropping a bit, and I was toast after some 3+ hours of sailing, so I returned to shore and the beach chair to have lunch, and wait for the gear to dry.

I joined Chris and Don for a beer and some plums to relax after the session, and we had some fun chat, and just enjoyed the fine summer afternoon!  It is not often we get windy days in mid July, so we were all very thankful!

With the afternoon turning into evening, it was time to pack up and go home, so I said my goodbyes, and made the pleasant trip home thru the countryside.  A perfect end to a brilliant day of sailing!!  Life is good!

 Here’s to more of the same in the future!

Cheers!

Tim

Hey all!
Well the trip to Greece was great fun, and the sailing in Estonia was awesome as well! So much so that I now plan to go back to Estonia for the rest of the summer chasing the wind, and exploring my future!!

After a couple months living there, I plan to go to Dahab, Egypt in late October into November for four or five weeks, joining Epp’s group for the camp!! Warm water, strong wind, and great scenery! Shalom!

Then the next trip will be Jericoacoara, Brazil in December! Here I will stay for two weeks of wave sailing around Dec 6^th thru the 20th!! Just awesome!!  Time to learn some Portuguese, and get the wave legs in shape!

After this I plan to go to Republica de Cabo Verde in early February for an island hopping tour of the many sailing spots thru these islands!! All on a big boat! So cool!  Not sure of the dates just yet…

Then I will continue with 8+ weeks in Margarita, Venezuela for the late Feb. thru mid April time frame!! My favorite! Que Bien!

If you want to come with, just email me, and I’ll see about adding you to the roster!! I will be traveling with Epp’s group for most of these places, but using Vela for Jeri, and Margi, of course!

So drop me a line, or post on the forum if you want more details or wish to join in the fun!!  I will also be updating the site and filling in details as I get them, so check back later for new updates!

Cheers!
Timo

Morning in Amsterdam;

I walked all thru the evening on Wednesday into Thursday, and was actually lost for awhile, but the place is laid out by some old Cartographer dudes, and it is pretty easy to find your way around.

I did my earlier exploration in circles, to build a familiarity with the streets and shops, so I would remember them if I passed thru again.  This was key; and worked perfect!  I was able to make it work without much trouble.

After the early morning stop at the boat, I recharged with my coffee, and it just didn’t make since to go to bed for a couple hours, so I stayed up all night, walking the streets and continuing my exploration of the city!

I found the light of early morning on the rivers and canals now nearly empty of people quite the treat, and begging for the camera.  I snapped a bunch of shots, and these are up on the ‘Photos’ link if you want to look them over.

What a town to enjoy on foot!  I felt so comfortable everywhere I went, and though the early morning streets are almost empty, a few places are open, and the many parks and various area’s are just beautiful in the twilight!

It was an amazing feast for the eyes and my sad soul was lightened with the knowledge I was walking and contemplating life on some of the same streets as some of the most famous folks in history.  Life rolls on, and there is so much to see of it!

I chatted with a few fine people along the way, Kasha at the coffee shop, Thomas at one of the bars, three gals at the ‘Bols’ bar I did not get the names of, Erin at the change house, Singja on the streets to name a few.  The suggestion by Epp to try to start conversations with people was a great one!  I really enjoyed meeting new humans!

I now wish I could continue to just explore the city for days, and meet many new locals, and see if I can make some new friends here!  It has been a life changing trip to say the least!!

I did finally return to my boat on the river around 7:30 AM on Thursday morning, and had a long awaited potty break!  The only thing hard to find in the city is public restrooms!!

I needed to be at the airport about 12:30, to be there the required three hours before the flight to MSP, so I had a few more hours to spend here.  I was very glad I added the extra day for exploration, and had made complete use of same, so I spent the rest of the time packing, a shower, final blogging, and calling for a cab.

I had thought of making a final walk a couple blocks to get some strawberries for breakfast, but it was soon too late to do it, after taking some time for café on the deck watching the scene.

It had been a light mist of rain most of the morning, and the clouds even let out some full rain here and there, so it was a bit gray, and only the hardcore river athletes were out paddling, and the never ending steam of locals on their bikes. 

Did I mention I really love the Dutch girls in skirts on bikes! J  Such a huge number of stunningly beautiful, athletic women here!  I could watch for hours more, but I must return home, my doggies are waiting..

So a final cup of coffee, a final visit to the deck, and I say goodbye to this wonderful, beautiful, and amazing city, one of so many on this trip of a lifetime!!

The taxi is here, and I bring out my suitcases for the driver to load into the van, while I lock up for the last time, and turn in my key to the wheelhouse.  Sad to leave, but I will remember these days for a long time to come!!

The trip to the airport was uneventful, and it was on thru the lines to get checked in and on to the waiting areas.  Here it was too easy to give in to the hunger, and I had some lunch before I got thru the final security and the waiting at the gate.

I was so very tired from the overnight tour of Amsterdam, and wanted to sleep, but knew I would need to reset the body clock, so I fought it and stayed awake for the duration of the waiting, and thru the flight.

I kept up the introduction to strangers’ thing, and met my plane seat neighbor Erica, and we talked for an hour or two, between the in flight movies, and this was nice.

I had a bunch of new experiences to share, and it was nice to hear she and her family had just been on a cruise on the Baltic sea, and had also seen Tallinn!  So nice to know she also found it beautiful, and I got to find out she was a teacher, the people I most respect!  It is good to share!

We landed ahead of schedule, and I said goodbye, and moved on to immigration and then the baggage claim, and to the taxi back to the house.

It had been a very long day, and I was so beat by the time I got to the house, I really wanted to sleep, but the dog greeting; like a rock star might get, gave me a bit more energy to enjoy them for an hour or so!

I just love these creatures, and the three of them showed me that I was the star of their show with all the waggles and licks I got!  It was a dog-love fest, and I was the center of it!  Lovin dat!

So my recent adventure is now complete, and it has spawned some more to come!  I can’t wait to start the next one!!  Let’s do it!!

I apologize to any readers out there that might not like my somewhat depressing, and personal blogging I have been doing recently.  I did not intend to blog about anything but windsurfing, and I have deviated from that during this trip.

I hope it wasn’t too boring or embarrassing to my readers, and I do plan to return to less personal, and more windsurfing for the future reports, but I will always have the personal info there, it’s just not possible to write without it, but just not so deep.

So thanks for reading, and I hope to post again soon, maybe with some Minnesota stuff, if wind or timing permits, or other new locations I may visit!

I have been thinking of Dahab, Egypt, or Jerri, Brazil as spots that I would like to see, and take photos of, and might get the chance to real soon! (I would like to go with those Estonians again!!)

I hope to also be back here blogging if my plan to return to Tallinn, Estonia comes to fruition!  I am checking into bringing my fully loaded van over via ship, for the few months I hope to live there!

With the van, boards, and sails, I should be able to explore the windsurfing scene with ease, and will report on any outings there!  So check back later for more of Tim’s adventures in windsurfing and life in general!

See Ya!

Timo

Loving Amsterdam!!

Got up around 10-11AM, had my café on the boat deck in between the thunderstorms and sprinkles, and then ventured over to the train station to exchange some USD for Euro.

This was easy, as I followed the locals to figure out how to get in and all, and then used my new cash to have a breakfast/lunch from the market.  I got a turkey sandwich, and a ham n cheese, with yogurt strawberries, cashews, and the poison; chips.

I had this sweet meal on the bench seats just outside the station, watching the many travelers coming and going, and a big bunch of them on bikes!  I snapped a bit of this, so see the photos on the ‘Photos’ link.

I then got some more coffee in me, and kept it going with a nice long walk about town!  This ran thru the evening and into the night as I let myself get lost in the many streets of this amazing city!

On the way thru, I paid a visit to the pretty Sarphatipark park, and while strolling thru, I saw an empty basketball court upon which to play some footbag.  This was perfect!

I hit the bag about for 20 min or so, not enough to get the clotes wet with sweat, but enough to feel better, and know I got to kick the bag in Amsterdam!  I didn’t get anyone to join in, but got a few to stop and look, and a couple positive comments, so it felt like fun to me!

I took as many photos as I could along the way, but often forgot to be a tourist, and mostly just took it all in!  So many interesting things everywhere you look!!  I would need a couple weeks to see it all!  And endless paragraphs to detail it all here!  I’ll leave this to your imagination, and the photos…

I crammed it all in and got blisters on my feet from all the walking in sandals!  The rain let off, and only misted me once and awhile, so it was a bit muggy, but still a complete blast!!

I explored the many streets and parks, with a stop at a bar here and there along the way for a beer or treat.  There are some great markets, and the fruit here is so amazing!  Strawberries that blow your taste buds away!  So fresh!

I finally got back to the boat, and then had some more coffee, a potty break, and then it was on to explore more!  I just kept going until dawn, and got back to the boat about 7:30AM!!  Got me ALL of that day!

It was some good fun into Thursday!  (To be continued on the next post.)

So that ends this post, see ya!

Timo

Good morning Amsterdam!!

I awake today with new energy!  I was feeling bad there for awhile, but I have been a bunch better, and working on a new life, and much less bummed out about it all!

Amsterdam is good for that, helping you to look about, and seeing that life goes on all around you, and we are all floating in it, sometimes we swirl in eddy currents together, and sometimes they split apart.  There is nothing much to do about it but ride the wave when it hits.

I was smashed by the first initial wave of emotions, thrust in the washing machine, felt like I would drown under the weight of the heavy stuff, and I couldn’t tell which way was up, paddling and trying to get back to the surface, the hectic panic of a drowning man, thrashing and spewing bubbles, lungs and heart ready to burst.

But Epp was on her board near the surface, and threw me her hand, and pulled me in the right direction, giving me just enough hope to follow her lead, so I went forward and up, and got to the surface on Monday night.

I was ready for the next wave, on the surface, and water-starting in the same direction as the wave this time, and I know I have to get a ride on this one!

I’m still wet, cold, scared, and freaking at the size of the swell coming my way, but I only hope the short help out from Epp is enough to get me a ride, instead of another trip to the washing machine! 

Today I finally did a nice big walk about town, just to see what it is all about here, and found the coffee shops and bars plentiful, with some fresh fruit at a couple close grocery stores, plenty of parks, and so much beauty to explore all around!  See these on the ‘Photos’ link.

I stopped on the way back to the boat at the local Taco shop, actually run by a guy from Wisconsin named Greg!  What a world!  And his Mexican is ‘sposed to be the shiznit, so I stopped in for a deluxe beef taco!

This was a perfect first meal of the day at late lunch, and he makes a special hot sauce that is so fricken awesome, it is almost hot to me!!  That be some heat brudda!

It was a great meal and it was only 8 Euro or $12USD!!  (Fru@kn weak dollar!)  Gotta make that meal last awhile!  J  Still it was very filling and I had really desired good Mexican for some time!  I think I will be back!  Cheap spicy eats and very tasty!  I even snapped a photo of the stellar place:

With the recharge, I continued the walk-about, and visited the other side of the river to see what my boat looks like from over there.  I had a nice walk, and snapped some of the boat, to show what an awesome pad it is!  My rental side is the side covered in green below:

After completing this side of the river trek, I strolled a bit farther, and did some shopping on the main street with the trolley rolling buy.  Then making a loop back around along a canal, back to my place.

I had been brewing coffee while out on walk-about, and was glad to have my special café for my sit on the deck, just to watch some of the boating in progress, on this the hottest day of the year so far!

I had such a great time with the camera, and really enjoyed my afternoon on the deck of the boat, watching the many river riders drift by my side of the river!  I also watched street side as well, and the photo fun was on!

I took some amazing views onto the memory card, and these really deserved to be the full size 800 x 600, so look for these Boat/river/Street shots on the ‘Photos’ link.  I also have a very fast connection, so dumping them up to the site was easy!  I even put a couple videos up as well!  These help to show a bit better what a pleasant afternoon it was to shoot the boats!  Check them out on the ‘Videos’ link.  (These have to be transfered to the link, check back later when I get a chance to release them.)

I realized I had not shown the boat in photos yet!  I just had to show the life, so I got to work, and shot the cabin I have been blessed to be in!  (Please excuse the mess, I am living out of my suitcase..)  See the beauty that is my river home below:

I know, I am one lucky ba$tard!!  Envy me!! J  Life is hard here on the boat! J J

While I was inside in the air conditioning making the shots, I worked some more email, and played on the laptop a bit, made a few calls to good friends and family for life discussions, and finally decided to enjoy one more day here!

Martin had Thursday night open for the boat schedule, and I got it for half price, almost paid for the flight change to move my return from Wednesday AM to Thursday noon!!

So I have another day and a half to enjoy my new paradise!  I just love the feel of these European countries!  I am getting a wonderful positive vibe about it all!!

I was hungry again, and just not ready to burn thru my money, so I paid another visit to ‘The Taco Shop’ and Greg and Logan working the counter!  This time it was a smothered burrito, and Greg pumped up the homemade hot sauce to the max this time!!

I was in spicy Mexican heaven!!  Just awesome!  Still not too hot for me, but it was working to get me a sweat!!  Mon dat be som good sit for me!!  I loved it, and was again happy to pay the 9 Euros or $14.50 USD for the huge meal, with a large side of extra jalapeños!!  Perfect supper!  And I snapped some more shots of my now favorite cool place to eat:

I made the stroll around the block to make the return home, and on the way failed to obey the ‘keep right’ rule of the mixed sidewalk for the bike right of way.  I went left instead of right as a local on a bike tried to pass, and my standing 230lbs was no match for his 140 or so on a bike, and he ran into me with his right steering arm!

Cross-up!!  His front wheel shot right and out from under him from the sudden impact, and BAMM!  He was down on the left knee to the paver blocks!!  He dropped his Ice cream, skinned his knee, dropped his magazine and generally came up shouting in Dutch what I imagined was “You stupid frickin tourist, what the fu@k do you think you’re doing!!”

I could do no more than try to explain I was new to town, very sorry, and asked if  was he OK, in English..  I then offered him some Euros for the cone he lost in the impact, and again begged his forgiveness.

It looked as if he was just gonna ride off swearing, but after I again offered to help in any way as he rode a few feet, then had to get off and check the damage, and rub-out the pain of the skinned knee!  I again caught up and offered to help, and told him I could I at least get him a new ice-cream cone!  You had one and now you don’t, let me at least restore that!

He finally let go of the anger, and it turned into a greeting, as we introduced ourselves, his name was Peter, a local, and he asked where I was from.  He wondered if people ride bikes in Minnesota, and I explained it was nothing to compare to the numbers here, but we do ride bikes, and I ride mine quite a bit for a fat lazy American!

I then asked about the sidewalk rules, and found I had been in the wrong many times earlier in the day!  Pedestrians must stay to the right, per the car traffic direction for that side of the street, to allow bikes to pass left, but bikes must keep an eye out for peds as well…

So after much cajoling, I got him to accept a couple Euros for a new Ice cream, and a couple more for the skinned knee and damaged pants, and sent him on his way, back to the happy biking guy he was until being downed by the giant fat man from Minnesota! J

I was unscathed, but felt embarrassed, and was only a short few meters from the boat, so I returned to its safer deck and the wonderful views of the river at dusk!

I again got out the camera for some street, boat, and river photos, and these are also on the ‘Photos’ link.It was almost ten by then, so I only sat on the deck relaxing for awhile, before going inside, and typing up the blog, uploading photos, emails, and making a call or two, still I stayed up most the night!

It’s almost 6 AM, and I need sleep, but it has been a life changing day for me!!  I am now forming a plan to return to Estonia, and the great social circle of fine folks I have come to know, at least for the rest of the summer thru October!!

I have been chatting up my close friends and family, gathering support for this new direction, and making the blueprint for change in a new land of opportunity!

I am so psyched!!  I can’t wait to see what life has in store next!  So glad I have an extra day to philosophize, and form my ideas for the future!!  I am off to it!

See you later today!

Timo

Hello people.

Today the sadness of the loss of my Estonian friends continues, my cold is slightly worse, and I just can’t get off the boat to enjoy the city.

I spent the day talking on the phone with Epp and my mom trying to get a handle on life, and my place in it.

I emailed a bit, wrote the past few days blogs, and uploaded the photos for same.

I only got outside once in the morning, as a couple young boys with their dog named Triples were outside, and I just had to snap a few shots of them fishing, and a few of the scene here, before sulking back into the cabin and my loneliness.  The photos are below;

The day passed so slowly, and even though I am hungry, and haven’t eaten a thing since Copenhagen yesterday afternoon, I just feel too depressed to go outside, afraid a couple holding hands or other public affection will send me into a crying fit.

So the day seemed to be wasted here in the boat, alone with my computer, and it is was past 9 PM, so I didn’t think I would do a thing today, except maybe sleep some more.

I skyped with Epp and then called and talked for awhile with her, and this brought me out of the depression, and my appetite returned that evening.

With my renewed confidence in life, and with new energy from the positive energy source that is Epp Hunt, I found the strength and conviction to move on, and make a venture out of the boat.

I got outside, and found Martin the owner sitting out sharing a beer with a friend, and chatted him up for the best place to get a late supper.

He was kind and offered me a beer, and I would have taken it if I wasn’t so hungry!  So I learned the name of his dog; Triples, from the sound she makes when walking on the roof of the boat, and she and I became friends with some ear scratches, and petting to gain her confidence in me.  I just love dogs so much, and this girl is a cutie!

Martin told me of a local pub/restaurant that caters to the Dutch here, and is not the typical tourist place, with very good food, just a block or two away, and I took his advice and made the walk down for some supper.

I took the camera along to snap a bit of the beautiful scene here, and managed to snap some of it below:      The walk was pleasant, and as I passed a group of young men sitting in a small park next to the river, the smell of burning cannabis wafted to my nose, letting me know, yes, I am in Amsterdam!

I continued on, and noted the large number of people jogging and riding bikes here.  Such healthy folk here it is amazing to this fat lazy American!  I am learning to love this European life, and kind of wish to live here!

  I walked a bit further and found the ‘Bols’ pub just where Martin said it would be, and walked inside for a look, before sitting out on the terrace for a meal and a beer.  See the photo here:The waitress was quick to my table, and I ordered a Heineken and a menu.  She returned to show me a menu that was only in Dutch, but with her help I found out about the special of the day, grilled chicken in a chili sauce, with veggies, rice and fries, just the call for me!

I sipped my beer, and thought of the amazing life I am leading, and the luck I have been blessed with; sure I am alone, but I am learning that it is OK, and I have to see the positive in life, and realize I am so lucky to be here!  Life is good, and I am living it to the fullest!  Like a great friend of mine, Tom Junkans said, it would be such a waste to not grab the life we have left, and live it to the max!!  True words my friend, true words!

After philosophizing for a few minutes, my cute waitress returned with the plate of food, almost too much for my now tiny stomach, after a day and a half without food!

The sauce was pleasantly spicy, not hot enough for my burned out tongue, but quite nice with the saffron and chives, mixed with the various veggies, and white meat chicken!  A very fine meal and the fries were amazing!  Loved it so much, I had to have another beer to celebrate!

I sat a bit longer before asking for the bill, and getting a look at the damages, 16 Euro, or about $28 USD with the tip!  Dam the weak dollar!!  Still, a fantastic meal, and I feel all the better for it!

So I was filled to contentment, and returned to my cabin on the water for a night of sleep, much happier than I have been recently.  I now wish I could stay an extra day, to make up for the lost time I wasted on Sunday and most of Monday!  But I must return, as I will run out of money very soon, and I am a bit homesick for my own home and dogs, and Connie of course!

So I returned to my bed, called Epp and talked for over an hour, sharing our lives and the complications of love, this was therapy for my soul making me feel even better!  I then emailed some more, looked over the photos, and was off to sleep, for a much better day on Tuesday!  See you then!

Ciao!

Timo