1st Amsterdam Trip
Years ago my company sent me to work in Amsterdam for three days, my first trip to the city of sin. Arriving at Schiphol I go straight to the car hire desk and collected my keys next some local currency, walked over to the ATM about 100m away to find my wallet was gone. There are some very skilled pickpockets in Schiphol.

50p in my pocket but I had my hired car and a room reservation waiting for me in the centre of town. This was 18 years ago so mobile phones had just been launched so hardly any one carried one. I needed to get to the Hotel and call the office.

Arriving at the Hotel, the reception area was busy with lots of people milling around, I show the receptionist my passport and explain my situation. “Sorry sir we can’t give you a room with out your credit card” “Sorry we can’t let you use the phone without some form a payment” Did some one come to my rescue ? No they didn’t get a chance I just lost it, well it had been a long day “My first trip to your country, I get robbed, I have no money and no way of contacting home and you won’t help me !” The reception area fell silent, I got a room key.

Great my first trip to Amsterdam, it’s a Friday night and not a bean on me. So I wonder down to the Hotel bar in the hope I can charge a few beers to the room. The bar was empty, me and the bar maid. We start chatting, I tell her about my day that it was my first trip to Amsterdam, she had already heard about the guy that had been robbed from the other staff. She disappears for a while, when she gets back, “here take this” a 100 Guilders “have a good time.” I did and I did. Thank you nice bar person.
(nee22 NL ExPat, Fri 3 Oct 2008, 14:47, 2 replies)

Why
would you have thought a kind fish would come to your rescue?

Had you been sampling some of Amsterdam's fabled, ahem, hospitality?
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Fri 3 Oct 2008, 15:23, closed)

Ouch
Fish what fish. :-)
(nee22 NL ExPat, Fri 3 Oct 2008, 16:09, closed)