Can you guess where I was yesterday?
Stupid tourists were blocking the front, so the backwards picture was much more accessible. (This is a reverse of that one. Thanks, Photoshop!) Unfortunately, sometime before or after I took this photo, my wallet disappeared. I say "disappeared" because I can't honestly say I know it was stolen, and given I very jet-lagged at the time, there's a non-zero chance I unintentionally made someone's day (there was about $100 USD in my wallet, not to mention 3 credit cards and my California driver's license). Welcome to
Teh Suck.
The folks at
my hotel were fantastic, and encouraged me to check my bags again before sounding the alarm. Once I confirmed it was gone, they called Amex for me, helped me figure out how to pay for the room, and showed me how to get to the police station to file a report. Very nice folks.
After an initial panic, it broke down like this: my bank would re-issue me a one-time, temporary card within 4 business days. Amex would re-issue me my card from an Amex office, same-day. I had enough USD to convert to Euro to get a train ticket to Brussels so I could work on Monday. The only hitch was that there wasn't an Amex office in Amsterdam, or I might've gotten that sooner. All in all, not bad -- K could've wired me cash if it got really desperate, and my very lovely colleagues were all willing to loan me cash until I got things straightened out. Room service, here I come.
The good news: I had a nice hotel room with internet access, and took a very nice bath. My friend D cheered me up (in chat) with stories of his misadventure in Denmark, when he and his girlfriend lost their rental car keys on the beach and the super high-tech Volvo locked itself down so they got to retrieve their belongings through the window and crash with a local beach entrepreneur for the night. I was doing pretty well by comparison.
Unfortunately the most I saw of Amsterdam was on the tram on the way to the train station. I think between the beer, museums, and nice walks, K and I could have a really nice week there. We'll definitely bring safely belts though. No purse for me!
Can you see why Amsterdam really reminded me (visually) of Cambridge, Mass? I knew you could.
Oh - in all my years of traveling, this is the first time I've lost my wallet. Feh!
One of the tourist attractions in Brussels is the Manneken Pis, or the fountain with a little boy peeing. Notice I didn't say "big attraction" (you'll have to click on the pic to actually see him). Anyway, the Bruxelleois are inclined to dress the poor guy up for any of a number of events, so I was amused to notice the very practical ladder chained up in plain view to the right of the tourist-swarmed fountain. You can see the feet sticking out below and to the right of the urn. I noticed it while I was looking for the "CAMERA SECURITY!" indicated by two signs on the wall. Couldn't find a camera. They must be pretty secure. 
I came back to my hotel early today to rest and, later, work. Turned into a nice day so I opened the window and set up shop. Not such a bad location, really.
