Tuesday 22nd June 1982 - day 4

Awoke at 8am and stayed in bed until 9am. Dave got dressed then asked Rob and me if we were (getting up and dressed) to which we jumped out of bed fully clothed from the night before. Tricksters or softies? probably softies. Had bread and butter for breakfast.

We could have lived with the over the top porn and drugs but the bread and butter breakfast put us all off Amsterdam so went in search of a way out via the local Transalpino (some sort of outlet for cheap youth travel throughout Europe). The vote went to Rome (might be warm and sunny, it was a bit dull and overcast here) and at 169 gilders (£40) it seemed good value as we could stop off anywhere along the way.

The train left Amsterdam at 12pm. Six hours later, three bored blokes and a staionary train in Luxembourg. One minute later, three ex passengers eating their tea on the platform. We eventually found the youth hostel which looked really posh and cost 115 Belgian francs including breakfast. We all showered and whilst I patched my jeans, Rob and Dave watched Scotland draw 2-2 with Russia. Went to bed at 11pm but had one big problem - Rob wasn't bored.


my thoughts:Two completely different cities in one day; Amsterdam was like a bad Manchester, Luxembourg like I'd imagined Lord Of The Rings - wall to wall trees, fine buildings and lots of sun. Not many people under 40 by the way...