What follows is the sequel to Dutch in Three Weeks, the travelogue I wrote describing my stay in Amsterdam in May, 2001. There's a lot of water through the canal since then.

The walking problem I was whining about turned out worse than I expected. Walking became increasingly difficult, and a couple of months after I returned I was diagnosed with intermittent claudication. To say the least, I took this news badly, and to my shame pretty much gave up hope, sinking into a slough of sloth, gluttony, and despair for two and a half years.

But then, at Thanksgiving of 2003 my doctor substituted another med for the Crixivan that I'd been on for seven years, and in January I began experiencing inexplicable bouts of happiness. I mean, there was absolutely no reason to be happy. I couldn't walk any better. My life was still a meaningless waste. Why in the world was I happier?

Finally I figured out that the only change in my life was the med change. In addition to helping destroy my ability to walk normally, the Crixivan had apparently been impairing my mental faculties and depressing me all these years, which explains why I wasn't able to deal with the additional burden of not being able to walk until after I got off those meds.

Finally ready to have some fun again, albeit walking-impaired, I checked with Rina in Amsterdam and found that she had an apartment available for May. And then I checked with the airlines and ended up booking my first flight since my trip to Amsterdam in May of 2001. What made the whole thing possible was that Air France was kind enough to let me take my Segway along for free as a handicap assistance device.

So this time I was going back to Amsterdam already knowing some delightful Dutch folks (and no Americans), so I anticipated that the stay would be even more fun than my previous. I was right. I just love the Dutch. They horrify and delight me. This time I met many more of them and learned a great deal more about Dutch society while having some adventures that I hope will have entertainment value. I can also honestly say that my Dutch has improved. Unfortunately, considering how little I remembered from 2001, that's not saying a lot.