I’m currently in the middle of a 32-hour layover at my home in Zurich. I just got back from 4 days in Amsterdam, and tomorrow morning I am headed to New Orleans, for my first trip to US soil in about a year and a half. Should be interesting, to say the least.
There’s a lot I want to post about Amsterdam, but it will have to wait until I have more time. But in order to keep this blog from looking completely abandoned, I figured I should fit in at least one little story. And I really don’t blog about self-inflicted injuries enough these days, so here you go.
If you’ve ever been to Amsterdam, you’ve probably noticed the tall skinny nature of a lot of the buildings, especially those that line the canals in the old town. Presumably this is because houses used to be taxed based on their width, so they were built very narrow but very deep (for all I know this is an old wives’ tale, but does it really matter for my story?).
Anyway, as one might imagine, these tall, skinny houses often come with tall, skinny staircases. I am usually extra-careful on these tall, skinny staircases, because I know I am not the best when it comes to balance. But after many successful trips up and down this staircase at my friend Saron’s house, I guess I started getting a little too cocky. On Saturday morning I basically tumbled down the entire length of the staircase, shrieking in terror the whole way down. When I reached the bottom, I was shocked to find myself in one piece, save for a whole lot of missing elbow skin (and a few forming bruises).
Now I would have felt like a complete and total idiot for this incident, if it weren’t for the fact that the Dutch guy (Eric) who lives in this house did the exact same thing about a month ago. And the blood stain his elbow left on the wall was even longer than mine (you can sort of make it out in the picture, near the banister). Soon we’ll have matching scars.
Moral of the story: when in Amsterdam, never walk down stairs in your socks.
**weeps**
Amsterdam! My home away from home! What a nice surprise to come to your blog today and find pictures almost exactly like the ones I have in my own digital files. I can’t wait to hear what else you have to say about your 4-day adventure. 🙂
I sometimes slip but so far never fell like that. Ouch.
And it’s not a tale; the tax/width thing is true. It’s because Amsterdam used to be a merchant city and so the wider your house, the more space you had to import goods from the canals.
Yikes. Every time I’ve eaten in a restaurant in Amsterdam and had to climb the stairs up or down I’ve been thankful I’m (a) wearing shoes and (b) reasonably sober. I think if I lived in one of those houses I would have to wear a helmet every time I took the stairs.
Oh yes, for the record, I was 100% sober at the time of my fall. It was the lack of shoes that did me in. 🙂
Sounds like bare feet is the way to go! ouch!
Ouch! I did the same thing in Austria but I had no excuse. I had shoes on and was sober. Enjoy your next trip.
I feel with you. I would have gotten myself quite a few of those bruises or worse, if it weren’t for my incredible sense of balance (or luck???). But I keep telling OX that the staircases in Holland (not only in Amsterdam), are way too dangerous: Narrow, steep as h*ll, and steps are much too short. They have such incredible architechts! Don’t they have anyone specialized in stairs??
Anyhow. Have a great trip to the US!