Continental #8 - Prelude and NL, part I - Amsterdam

Sprinkly colourful stuff on soft ice cream is all you need sometimes

It's the beginning of the Christmas season here, I'm gradually recovering from a surprisingly bad cold, and it's been a little over a month since the travels here happened. Since most people don't read this anyway - I don't think - I'll be a bit more forthright than I usually am here. I think this trip was the beginning of an end for me; I found that I derived less joy from the things that had once been my main source of delight, and overall the experience somehow paled in comparison to the ones I'd had before. Admittedly this may have been because of other things as well. It was an eventful year, and I probably let certain circumstances during this year colour my experiences more than they should have. It was also a year of transience for me; however as I look back on what I lost, and all that I gained, and the roads that were taken and the cul de sacs that certain paths led to, I can say that all in all, I don't regret a single thing.

I've just finished sorting out the NL part of my photos and much to my surprise I can't fit them all into one single entry after all, like I did for Budapest. Same person, different times and different cities. Only I and someone who is no longer in my life will know what I am referring to here but Sarajevo, Budapest, Prague, and now Amsterdam. And no more. And no less.
One glaring, character flaw of mine that I've come to realise over the past year or two is that I tend towards the greener grass, even if it isn't. I longed for Europe in Asia; now that I'm in Europe I long for Asia. I missed UKI in Europe; but here I look at the Continent and yearn for that. How will I ever be content, like this, if I'm always chasing the horizon? I really will have to do something about this.

On my way to Ams; at this point, I was still hopeful

This is the Amsterdam underground. For some people, it's just another world; for others, it's their entire existence. What does it feel like to put all your eggs in one basket? I don't think I will come here ever again for as long as I live. Or maybe I will. Who can tell.

Turkish kebab, dear lord, as if I haven't had enough of these already. I will always associate them with this year.

And this is the part where I finally emerged a little from the underground and managed to get some sightseeing done. Not as much as I would have liked to, but good enough, I suppose.