I thought I was so cool, handing over twenty-five Euros to a freshly washed junkie I’d met in a Red Light District coffeeshop, instead of one of the smellier ones lurking on the poorly-lit bridges crisscrossing the canals. As soon as he pocketed the cash, he scurried outside and charged down the street. I hurried after him, half-running to keep up. When he darted into a darkened alleyway, I froze and my guard went up. Was he robbing me, or…
When I first moved to Amsterdam, the last thing I expected to see where flocks of rose-ringed parakeets residing in the city’s many parks. The beautiful pink and blue rings around their necks and in their tail feathers make them quite a sight to see. If you hear their high-pitched squawks nearby, go take a closer look. Thanks to their curious nature, they’ll probably check you out as well! The first official sighting was in 1976 in Vondelpark, the same…
The Swayambhunath stupa is one of the most recognizable symbols of Nepal, which is why I chose to feature a silhouette of it on the cover of my debut novel, Down and Out in Kathmandu: A Backpacker Mystery It is part of a large temple complex perched on a sliver of land rising high above the Kathmandu Valley floor, collectively known as the ‘Monkey Temple’ thanks to the colony of well-fed primates which reside there. The central stupa is topped by a gold-colored…
Scattered throughout Amsterdam’s largest city park – Vondelpark – are several statues and sculptures, including one designed by Pablo Picasso, Figure découpée l’Oiseau. Though Picasso intended it to be a bird (note the feet recognizable at the bottom of the sculpture), Amsterdammers have always seen it as a fish and locally it’s known as ‘Picasso’s Fish statue’. It was a gift from the artist to Amsterdam in 1965. That same year, the city organized an exhibition of artwork featuring some…