JG-L - Travel Pix-018

I'd promised my wife that we'd one day visit Holland, and for the most part, and because she's not a player, it would be a 'vanilla' vacation.

We started off in Rochester, Kent, UK on the 3rd of October and my relatives there were wonderful hosts, driving us all over the countryside, then up to Ipswich to meet GeeTwo and his Lady. The weather we experienced while in the UK was mild, no rain and generally very pleasant. Apparently it went into the tank as soon as we left for Holland.

We departed Harwich on the Stena Line ferry (very nice!) on the 8th Oct., heading for Hoek of Holland. As we left Harwich, we passed the Jewel Of The Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, and I want to tell you, that son of a bitch is HUGE.

The North Sea was quite literally, a flat calm for our crossing, and that is unusual. On arrival Anna Rose was waiting for us and we were soon happily settled in her lovely home. A day later we went into Rotterdam to visit the SUBLIEM Store.

SUBLIEM is a wonderful toy land for scene folks for they have a vast array of all sorts of toys and costume gear on the main floor, to say nothing of the well-displayed and laid out cages and other goodies downstairs. I was totally impressed with this store, to say nothing of the hospitality of its owners. Very nice people indeed and should you ever visit Rotterdam, THIS is the place to go.

Anna found a saddle and some hoof mitts and of course just HAD to try them on :-), then we were off for a little sight-seeing. You've all heard the expression, "If the shoe fits, wear it." ... well, she took that to new heights and we all had a few laughs.

Although it may look like I'm smoking something illegal (in North America and more especially the USA), I can assure you that it was nothing more than the usual 'demon weed'.

The next day we were off to Brussels to see my long-time friend Juergen Boedt, the owner and publisher of SECRET MAGAZINE. It was great to meet him and his wife again, as it had been a couple of years. Naturally, being the railroad nut case I am, I had to get pix of the station and assorted trains.

BOUTIQUE MINUIT, Juergen's store, is located right in the heart of Brussels and you'll be impressed with its wide selection and very friendly staff then it was off on a very brief walking tour, terminating at Juegen's favourite restaurant where we enjoyed a great lunch and a few ales.

After that, we wandered around the centre of the city, window shopping, and found some great artwork and stuff to buy ... most of which I can't afford, and besides ... I'll spend what few dollars I can spare on bondage gear :-).

On the 12th of Oct. we went to visit and stay with MISTRESS MADIEANNE and had a wonderful time with her and Kim. The first thing we saw after we arrived and got settled was her small and very pretty garden and fish pond.

Of course, I understand that most viewers of these pages aren't terribly interested in the vanilla pix above, but Madieanne has a wonderful studio with a monstrous selection of toys and all sorts of evil equipment that she uses with great expertise. I've seen a lot of dungeons and racks of costumes and gear over the years, but her selection truly astounded me.

Madieanne had made arrangements for me to visit to a local club, SHOWBOAT, on the evening of the 12th Oct. Her friend MISTRESS MANITA was most kind to have me as a guest at the party and I thank her most profusely. If you're looking for a great place to party and observe the passing scene in the Amsterdam area, you'll find this club to be clean, VERY well-organized and dedicated to having a good time.

Kim and I got dressed for the event, then it was off to a great evening with some truly wild goings on :-) This was the only time I got to wear anything remotely kinky during the entire trip.

Madieanne and Kim took us to the Saturday flea market at Waterloo square and we enjoyed perusing all of the stuff on offer there. I really liked hat that she's wearing in the left hand pic, and should have bought the damned thing. Next time :-).

A little later we headed off to look around the canals and check out some of the more interesting stores around the red light district. As can be seen, we continued to have great luck with the weather and it surprised everyone with being so pleasant.

Our first stop was a the world renowned DeMask store. What an incredible array of stuff there and one could very easily spend thousands and thousands.

From there it was a brief walk through the city to make our next stop at ABSOLUTE DANNY, another nice place to shop, and with a friendly, knowledgeable staff. This is another Mecca for any kink visiting Amsterdam and shouldn't be missed.

Our last stop of the day was a visit to BIZARRE DESIGN. I've admired and drooled over the creations of this wonderfully bent artist for years and years and so it was a true pleasure to actually meet him face to face. If you want the very best in corsetry, THIS is the guy to see.

Jeroen was a very accommodating host and we spent a couple of hours with him. In the top row, far left, he and I admire a corset he'd created for the legendary Cathi Jung. In the meantime, Madieanne found a beautiful corset and we enjoyed watching her try it on, then have some fun with other corsets.

The next day, Kim escorted my wife and I back into Amsterdam to do the typical tourist canal tour, but before we got on the boat, my ears were assailed by a familiar sound ... that of bag pipes! It was pretty weird seeing a piper in full regalia in the middle of Holland's major city.

Bicycles ... Jesus! I've never seen so many of the damned things in one spot. Just the number of them alone will send all of the bloody tree huggers into fits of ecstasy (while they, like Al Gore, John Edwards and company) live in monstrous houses and ride around in their limousines and corporate jets, all proclaiming themselves to be eco-friendly and as pure as the wind-driven snow. Those sanctimonious, two-faced, bull shitters make me want to barf, I gotta tell ya.

Any how... Ah, the Dutch! ... They DO know how to have a good time. In the two pix below, you'll see what I mean. What is shown is a mobile, beer dispensing canteen, where the passengers drink their beer, peddle the thing around and all the while chat on their cel-phones or with their friends who are also aboard, all at the same time. Makes a LOT of sense to me! However, the rest of the world is just too damned up-tight to allow this sort of relaxed enjoyment of a beer, and that's a shame.

On the 15th, we left Amsterdam for Frankfurt to catch our flight back to Vancouver. I booked the ICE train (300 kmph) and it took us only four hours to make the trip. Smooth, comfortable and extremely fast.

All in all it was a GREAT trip and I look forward to going to the Netherlands again.