Luxembourg to Amsterdam, April 1, 2006

My last full day in Europe started with another geocaching hunt in Brussels. I had searched for a few the previous afternoon with no finds. I had sat on a nearby bench, waiting for the muggles to get up from their park bench and had given up and after 20 minutes. This morning I made my way to the last easy one, that I hadn't searched for yet. I saved the park bench as my last resort.

I wanted to get back to Amsterdam for my last night in Europe, so I headed out, on a mission. For a Saturday morning, Brussels was dead. "The Lift" was uphill (of course) and about a mile away. About half way there, my leg brace suddenly felt loose. One of the hinges had come loose. It had never happened before. I did not have an allen wrench to fix it. Not on me and not in my luggage. I pressed on.

I walked to the top, forgetting that the cache is near an elevator, thus the name of "The Lift." I found the 35mm film canister, signed my name and started making my way toward the park bench hide. After a few minutes, I realized that the brace wasn't loose, it was broken. The hinge piece had rubbed on my inside ankle and there was a sign of blood. I removed the brace and carried it as I slowly, cautiously made my way back to the hotel.

There were no tool stores open, or any that I saw at all. The desk clerk had no access to tools and the handyman did not work on weekends. I now carry an allen wrench with me all the time.

I had moved so slowly that I had to hurry to check out in time. I doctored my fresh wound and the others I acquired along the road. I was so happy that this happened at the end of the trip, rather than the start. It could have been a show stopper. After the shortest cab ride ever, I eventually made my way to the correct track, for my train to Amsterdam.

The last long train ride was depressing. I kept thinking that my trip was almost over. My stop in Amsterdam, at the start of the trip seemed to be so long ago. My sorrow of an ending trip lifted from thinking about all the places I had been and the great people I chatted with.

I had reservation set for the Best Western Eden. Based on all the previous hotels, I assumed that this one would be another nice one. WRONG! It was Saturday night and I should have made a reservation earlier and really should be happy I found a safe hotel. I dropped my bags in the closet of a room, changed dressing, splashed some water on my face and went to the desk clerk to ask where I could find a store with tools.

I was in luck, there was a hardware store only a few blocks away. I found it with ease and bought and fixed my brace right in the store. I relaxed knowing that I wouldn't be stuck in the dinky hotel. I made my way to the damrak to buy cheap trinkets. Stopping here and there for food and drinks.

Another Traveler:


With no worries about making my flight home and having nothing on my agenda, I had a fun night. Those tourists sure know how to party. By the time I got back to the teeny hotel room, it didn't matter how awful my last hotel room was, I just wanted to sleep. I double checked the alarm clock and let myself fall fast asleep.





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