Not sure what day it is, but a recessed corner of my mind is telling me that I have much to recount. But first, a warning for the weak-minded: I've had my mind blown to smithereens a number of times since arriving here, and I'm not sure whether it's contagious, so if you're not prepared to see your entire world shatter before your eyes, you may want to skip ahead to the bits about Berlin.
My hostel is situated right smack in the center of the Red Light District. I look out my window and see prostitutes smiling at me. I think they like me.
The view from upstairs. Katja sends her regards.A Rastafarian caretaker going by the handle of King Shiloh Ras Iyiapo Tafari delivered an impromptu lecture on "Words, Sound and Power" to a bunch of us hostel rats whilst pretending to paint over scuffs in our room. The King also claims to have delivered lectures in America, most recently in Colorado Springs, but that very well could have been a street corner somewhere in Eastern Europe.
King Shiloh drops some wisdom. (Praise Jah.) I couldn't possibly do his lecture justice by relating it here, but I'll at least share with you a few nuggets of universal wisdom to ruminate upon later - that is, if you're ready:
- 1 + 1 ≠ 2. Instead, 1 + 1 = 3, since whenever two entities come together they create a third entity composed of pure energy.
- History = "his" story = not fact, simply one person's opinion (though King Shiloh may have stolen this from the King of Pop).
- What's bigger than everything? Nothing. Therefore, if you want to have more than everything, simply work to have nothing.
- Don't understand. To stand under something is to be obscured by it. Instead, overstand.
- By the same token, don't appreciate, apprecilove. (Hey, they can't all be gems.)
With this being the start of my day, I had a feeling things were going to get trippier. They did.
After sampling some of the fungal fare, I made my way down to the Van Gogh Museum to take in a bit of high culture. That lasted less than an hour. Driven by an uncontrollable desire to be outside, I bolted to the nearest exit and headed for the park outside the museum, where I spent an indeterminate amount of time sitting, staring at things, and thinking groovy thoughts about grass and clouds.
(Note: If you'd like to know how we're all just like grass and clouds, email me and prepare to have your mind blown.)
The whole of existence.After peering into the depths of the universe for a nice long while, I washed down this false sense of grandeur with a plate of pan-Asian noodles and a brief prayer to Buddha that this all be over soon. It ended shortly thereafter.
That was part one of my day.
Tune in tomorrow as I relate my second European pub crawl, my first anti-American encounter, and my deteriorating patience with these ubiquitous Aussies.
Stay groovy, Planet Earth.
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