Blaaaaggghhh!

Amsterdam and vomit have an interesting history. Legend has it that Amsterdam was first settled when a merchant sailor landed with his seasick dog. As they were looking for a place to rest, the dog vomited and that was where they decided to stay. Obviously, Amsterdam was founded by a stoner – who else would decide that the best place to stay was next to regurgitated Alpo? Phew!

Then there’s the "Miracle of The Vomit". (I am not making this up – we learned about it the first day that we were in Amsterdam. They have a painting of it in the history museum. If you don’t believe me, here are links to two websites that talk about it: http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/history/fr/amsterdam.htm?terms=dying+wool
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/amsterdam/0043034657.html)

Anyway, the "Miracle of The Vomit" was that some guy went to communion and then puked up the wafer. They threw the vomit into the fire (again, what was wrong with these people – why would you want the stench of that stuff in the church?). The fire burned through the night, but in the morning, they looked at the ashes and the wafer was still intact. Priests were told about it and the regurgitated host became a shrine at Oude Kerk (Amsterdam’s "Old Church").

Today, the vomit tradition of Amsterdam lives on. Americans and other wasted youth come to the city by the millions. We saw a guy take a bad spill outside one of the cafes after he had too much to dream. Don’t know if he inverted his stomach, but it is not outside the realm of possibility. We did have to step over some of Amsterdam’s finest tradition on our way to the park on Sunday.

You learn so much by visiting other cultures.