HOLLAND

PHOTOS

WEDNESDAY 7/22: Claudia and I had our own hot chocolate packets so we went to the bar with mugs from our room and asked for hot water. A U2 medley started playing over the speaker! The only guy there, who was having a beer in the morning, pointed to the speaker and said he just got off work from the last two nights of U2 concerts. We told him how we were following U2, got his name, and said we'd see him in other cities. Then we had breakfast with Nick and Fernando, who dropped me and Nick off closer to downtown. Metro'd the rest of the way. We took a "Lovers" boat cruise for an hour around the canals---it was so lovely. Amsterdam is so much prettier than you think! And we see the slogan "I AMsterdam" everywhere.

Then we walked the dreaded Red Light District but I consider it feminist research. The first couple windows were not right next to each other and the women looked older, almost like SF drag queens, and it looked like they each had a little house. It didn't bother me too much. But then we went down this alley right in the middle of all the shops and it was window to window all these...young-looking girls! I thought the windows would be up high but they were right there on your level! I also thought the women would look sullen or drugged but they were mostly so pretty and confident. My mind started racing as to whether they were really this way or were they going to get beaten at the end of the day if they weren't. I thought my reaction would be anger or an intense interest, but instead I started to tear. I remembered that the U2 "Into the Heart" book on U2's song meanings suggests that the 1983 song Red Light from the War album could be addressed to one of the gals Bono observed in the windows of the flophouses in the Red Light District in Amsterdam! The good thing is that they use condoms and are tested and have a PANIC button! This is why prostitution should be legalized, but there are downsides to it being legalized too.

Nick and I decided it was time for a liter of draught Heineken and toasties at an outdoor cafe called De Haven, right on the canal surrounded by exquisite architecture. We were supposed to go to the Anne Frank museum but the line was too long. We were also supposed to party at a cafe but we decided not to stay since we were already walking around sometimes trying to close our eyes while we walked! Because we were that tired. That night I had a beer in the hotel bar with Claudia because I just needed to have another beer!

TUESDAY 7/21: Walked to U2's hotel, the Intercontinental. Saw Eleanora and met another guy. Waited for the band until 3:15p but then left. At 4:15p we found out that Bono signed his autograph for Eleanora with MY pen!

U2 A'DAM 2
(Brono #63, Nick #34)
VIDEO

Okay, we ended up getting FRONT ROW CENTER (my first time in that exact spot!). We meet Zbycha (who we call Z) and friends from Poland in the second row. When U2 played One, a song I thought I was sick of, I cried from beginning to end (perhaps because it was in the middle of the show instead of the end). Then they went straight into Until The End Of The World (just like on the Achtung Baby album) for this first time this tour, and I was leaning over the rail with my hands over my eyes and tears flying off my face. It was so hot but this nice security guy kept handing me a sponge from a bucket of cold water. U2 also played Bad and Elevation for the first time on this tour, which all made this the best setlist, possibly ever. And Bono during Ultraviolet (Light My Way) was jaw-dropping with his lit jacket and special microphone. At some point I could swear I heard a snippet of Drowning Man but it's not on the U2 Tours link above, yet it is listed on U2 Gigs!

MONDAY 7/20: Up around 8:00a. Nick worked out hotel reservation issues. So much for being in U2 A'dam 1 line at 6:00a! Walked to Amsterdam ArenA (yes, with a capital A at the end) by noon. Miriam from the SouthBay runs over to us! Then Nick and I got in line--we were below 1000 at least (about 3000 are allowed in Inner Circle). Meet up with Eleonora, a fan from Italy, to buy Nick's extra Germany concert ticket. Nick picks up tix for following night at will call and gets some stadium food for us. Then I get text from Lana, a Croatian fan I met in London in 2001 and we visit in line. I then meet a guy named Cathal selling a book called Me & U2. Nick realizes he knows him from U2 Interference! About midday a U2 store suddenly opens up to sell books, CDs, and posters and it's blasting one of U2's greatest hits CDs out to the crowded line.

U2 A'DAM 1
(Brono #62, Nick #33)
VIDEO

We made it in the Inner Circle. First we stood in the corner, front row on the rail behind the stage, to see the band come out. During the show we stood on Edge's side but couldn't see well. Nick only slept two hours and I was tired too but we still enjoyed ourselves. And it was good seeing Miriam again inside the show. We walked back to the hotel...good thing, as the cars were parked on the road. One car was filled with guys screaming all the lyrics to With Or Without You. We loved that!

SUNDAY 7/19 (cont'd): Take train to Central station. Transfer to the Metro. No bus! So walk to Mercure Hotel Aan de Amstel near the stadium in Amsterdam. Nick chivalrously lugs both roller suitcases in tow. Then major problems with check-in, which involved two rooms and four of our friends (Claudia, brothers Fernando and Roberto and their mom). I napped in the lobby while Nick dealt with it. Then we got to go to the computer room and play on the Internet for free while the hotel worked it out. Didn't get into hotel room to sleep until 1:00a. Nick was so worried...that he woke up at 3:00a for awhile which woke me up but then we went back to sleep.