Kinkle In Europe Says...

Last weekend! I spent most of Thursday going from Glasgow to Amsterdam with a three hour layover then from Amsterdam to Hamburg. Trying to kill that much time with a toddler is tough, even if the Amsterdam airport has the single best gift type shops I have seen. I love my local tchotchkes and they've got some of the best but I didn't feel as though I could truly buy any because I didn't see the city. Weird, I know. Anyway Thursday has bearing on my weekend for two reason: One, I didn't leave the apartment on Friday because it was schmuddlevedder (rainy drizzly grey weather) AGAIN and also because after all that hauling the baby & luggage around I was perfectly happy to sit on my ass. Two, how lucky was I to get the f out of Glasgow before they rammed a car into the airport? I briefly considered extending my stay and going to London for a few days and my friend offered to watch the baby but then all flights in/out of Glasgow were cancelled. I would have been in London, my kid in Scotland and my husband in Germany! (Not to mention the dog in New York). It's too much apartness for moi.
ANYWAY so yes Friday was chill. Saturday when the hubby got done we went down to the Reeperbahn which is where the Beatles got their start. In 2007 it's a giant mess of trash boutiques, beer gardens, dive bars, slot machine halls, strip clubs and sex stores. It kind of reminds me of Bourbon Street with more of the sex element thrown, and is filled with everyone from people with kids to old people to tourists to lots and lots of cheesy bachelor and bachelorette parties dressed in goofy costumes which I guess is a tradition here.
We wandered around and it wasn't really jamming yet because it's a late night neighborhood, obviously. I wanted to go into one Sex Superstore but my husband said it would be inappropriate with the baby. Which, I guess it would but how did he get here in the first place? It was like outfits and dildos, not hardcore porn but whatever. We ended up on some little side street (but couldn't find the street that supposedly just allows men) looking for the Beatles venue which we didn't find. I noticed some kinda rockabilly sailor girl looking at me VERY frankly and finally figured out she was a working girl. That's when I noticed them: All around me, vacant-eyed chicks with badly dyed blonde or black hair, wearing short parkas, distressed jeans and fanny packs (presumably to hold condoms). Whatever happened to hot pants and go-go boots? They all had major caked-on makeup, too and none of them look too happy. It must suck laboring in the world's oldest profession in that particular neighborhood.
Anyway, we left that little side street and had a drink in some slightly upscale bar connected to a theater (they show things like Mamma Mia in this area too, it's not all booze n' porn) and then wandered a flea market where some girl sang bad Alanis covers and I ate some random sausage off a grill. My eating is definitely more adventurous over here. We got home about the time the baby crashed so it was an interesting evening, even if I didn't hit any dodgy clubs.
The next night (I chilled at home again) I took my husband to a belated Dad day dinner at this crazy restaurant called The Old Commercial Room in our neighborhood where everyone from Tom Jones to George Clooney and Jackie Chan has dined. It's been around since the late 1600s SUPPOSEDLY but in that space since the late 1700s (Supposedly. It looked fairly new to me) and since the current owner is in his 60s it may not be there forever. It's kinda nautical on the inside, which lots of plaques and pictures and flags and whatnot everywhere and they were nice enough to give the baby coloring materials and a puzzle when we arrived. You can also smoke at all the tables which is cool I guess since there are few places you can do that anymore. The hubby made me try this weird Hamburg appetizer that was like pureed meat with two fried eggs on top, pickles and beets. You mix it all up & eat it and I KNOW it sounded disgusting but it actually was ok. I tried some on bread and as long as it was piping hot, I could totally deal with it.
Then we had a bottle of wine and some fish/potato/spinach/heavy sauce thing for me and roasted fish/potato thing for him. He ordered a strawberry shortcakeesque thing for dessert (something I typically avoid) and then we rolled on home. I heart the Old Commercial Room!