It was Wednesday two days ago, and I needed to run some errands in the Netherlands that I could have put off; but given the opportunity with a wife away at her sister's, I decided to hop on a train and ride the four and a half hours with an FFP2 mask on. I don't usually wear a mask which protects myself - I take the risk with the surgical ones - but I was traveling a long time into uncharted territories. Frankfurt Airport is a big Corona collection point; crowds of travelers from far and wide await Covid-19 testing in the tunnel between the station and the airport; and I had a layover between trains. I knew to avoid that tunnel.

Only a day trip, 6 hours in Amsterdam; I booked to return to Germany by midnight. There weren't a lot of girls during the day. My friend was there at La Vie en Rose - it was arranged for certain - but she's usually there anyway according to her personal schedule. The girls who are working are in good cheer - there's a good number of clients and not much competition.

I was in New York City less than a month ago. The city feels blasted after a war, but I felt safe because everyone had a mask on. Now in Amsterdam, I felt about as comfortable as I had in New York City in March when escaping the pandemic in the city felt like the right thing to do. In Amsterdam, effectively no one wears masks. I did. I mostly kept my FFP2 on, except in the sparse coffee shops, and when I was spending fun time with my friend.

Two recommendations: 1. keep a mask on - no one seems to mind. 2. shave the morning before; after wearing the mask all morning, my rough face had sanded the mask, so by the mid of the day, strands of cotton kept itching my nose. Damn it, can you believe it took me two extra hours to realize I should have just changed my mask? To be fair, I hadn't yet correlated my disintegrating mask with my discomfort. Now you're all the wiser ;-)

Cheers,

... Eric

Thanks for the update, Eric. It sounds like you had a nice time.

Thanks for the report. 420 is one of my go-to coffee shops.

What are the straw-like things in the box on the left and the plastic case below your mask?

My pleasure, IQ. It's nice to know the story was appreciated. Cheers!

I once wrote somewhere, "420 is such a favorite of mine, I keep a lighter bearing their name with me all the time." It is true.

Regarding my paraphernalia in the photo...

After Vanessa – for whom are the roses - once mocked my 1980's looking joints – the final straw - I submitted to the suggestion of an old friend who, "just can't roll fast enough"; those are cones with straws to stuff them. The box of three small cones purchased at 420 cost an Euro and hold about a gram each.

The plastic thing near my mask? - that's a mask strap or hook; I can't deal with the strings around my ears for any length of time. I bought a pack of six on Amazon for about six Euro; the three blue ones I kept for myself, the pink ones I distributed to my female students who where excited when they got them but don’t seem to wear them - apparently, mask straps don't portray love like gold jewelry does ;-)

... Eric

420 is in such a nice location with good gear and actually good coffee. When the weather is nice and they open the windows, it's a real pleasure to sit at the table by the window with a coffee and a smoke and watch the world go by. Enjoy.