After checking into the hotel, we took the tram back to the center of town to find a restaurant, ending up with Thai food again. We got into a bit of conversation with some young Flemish girls at the table next to us, which was fun. After dinner we explored the bars a bit, ending up at a bar / dance club called the Cock Ring, where I met a guy named Michael, who's from Dortmund, Germany, but lives in Amsterdam (working for an American company). Michael lives near our hotel, and he gave me a ride back there on the back of his bicycle. It felt like I'd definitely arrived in Amsterdam. Michael and I exchanged numbers to meet up again.
We did eventually make it to the Van Gogh museum, which was nice, small, and well-organized. Afterward we had lunch at a little outdoor cafe that felt very authentically Dutch, with its low prices and menu only in Dutch (very rare in Amsterdam). The wait staff was very helpful in translating, and we had a good meal. After checking out a sauna, which was in a nice space, but pretty empty, we had dinner at a Lebanese restaurant, with a very friendly owner and good food. We were a bit surprised, however, by their British- made, recent map of Lebanon on the wall, which refered to Israel as Palistine, and showed only the Palistinian cities, completely omitting the Jewish population centers.
After dinner we went to a club called De Trut, which had been recommended by my friend Noah Enteen, and which Michael said he'd be at, too. It's like nothing I've seen before. The small club is only open once a week, and in order to get in, you have to line up before they open at 11. If you get there after 10:45, it'll probably be too crowded and you won't get in. The cover charge was 1 or 2 euros, and drinks are about the same price. The building was taken over by squatters years ago, and the club is run as a nonprofit, donating proceeds to queer-oriented charities. The crowd was very local and friendly, and the videos were creative, including images of swimming elephants. Jim and I were very impressed with the ethnic mix here and in Amsterdam in general. Not only are there people of all colors from all over the world, but they are much more socially integrated than in the U.S. Michael was there with his roommate Michel and some other friends, and we chatted with them and with some other people we met. I was struck by the Dutch dislike of Germans. Michael told me he uses English in all his social interactions, although many people can speak German. (He doesn't speak Dutch.) He says people are much friendlier when he uses English instead of German, because of continuting resentment from World War II and the occupation. His (Dutch) roommate Michel said he felt a bit awkward when Michael's parents visited, and they spoke German with everyone, which makes people uncomfortable. The roommate said, "we want German people to speak English". It's as if the Dutch demand that the Germans deny their heritage and pretend to be miscellaneously international. On one hand I find this extreme, but it I am sympathetic when I think about the fact that the Germans forced Dutch people to learn German, and so now when they come here and expect to be understood in German, it brings up those resentments. Whereas the same behavior in English bothers no one. (A Dutch woman in a shop refused to tell Jim how to say "thank you" in Dutch. She said better to use English than to butcher her language.)