Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Alice's Adventures in Polderland - part 1

   (Alice is a 20-something girl, just beginning to explore herself. 
Graduated from an English university, she needs a job and can't find one
suitable in the UK.  Desperate not to waste her psychology background, she
finds a job with a science publisher in the city of Amsterdam, Holland. 
However, Alice is unprepared for the wild adventures she is about to embark
on.)

   Alice arrives in Holland at the port of Rotterdam early one spring
Friday morning, having travelled overnight with her suitcase full.  She's
due to start work the following Monday, moving into her apartment, hired by
the company, that afternoon.

   After clearing customs, she finds herself suddenly alone.  There are
hundreds of people going in all directions.  Alice already knows she's
going to have to learn Dutch, but the myriad of signs confuse her
completely.

   'Damn it!' she thinks.  "I'm intelligent.  I should be able to work this
out.'

   She struggles with her big suitcase to what she believes is an
information counter.  Finally, she manages to work out how to get to
Amsterdam - by train - and the girl on the desk speaks such good English
that Alice is rather bemused.

   She buys a ticket and gets on the train.  She's careful to find a
compartment that doesn't contain any creepy looking guys.  The last thing
she needs is to be chatted up right now.

   Alice settles in her seat, with her big suitcase right in front of her
so no-one can sit exactly opposite.  She smiles to herself as several
people sit in the compartment, most of them older women.  The train leaves,
stopping at the Hague (she learns it's called Den Haag, in Dutch) and the
ride goes through very flat polder countryside, just as she'd been told.

   She didn't sleep much on the ferry over the North Sea as it was a rough
night, windy and raining.  Alice is very soon dozing off.

   Sometime later, she wakes up, to find the compartment empty and the
train stopped.  She realises she's at a station and peers out hoping to see
which one.  Lucky for her, it's Den Haag.  She settles back down again.

   As the train starts to leave the station (strangely, going in the other
direction), the compartment door opens and a pretty blonde girl enters,
smiling at her.

   "Dag," says the girl, happily.

   "Hello.  Oh, I'm English," explains Alice.

   "That's no problem for me," says the girl cheerfully.  "I speak very
good English.  Are you new here?"

   Alice immediately feels quite a rapport with this Dutch girl.

   "I arrived on the ferry this morning," she explains.

   "Rotterdam or the Hook?" the girl asks.

   "Oh, Rotterdam.  I come from North of London," Alice tells her.

   The girl seems to understand.  Sitting across from Alice, she relaxes
and chatters about all sorts of things.  Her name is Angie and she's almost
the same age as Alice, going to study at university in Amsterdam.  Her area
is biochemistry, which is far away from Alice's subject, but the girls
explore each others interests, finding that they have a lot in common.

   "Do you have somewhere to stay?" asks Angie.

   "Well my company had hired me an apartment," Alice says.

   "Lucky you!' laughs Angie.  "It's really difficult to find somewhere
nice in the city - at least for a cheap price."

   "You have somewhere?" Alice asks her new friend.

   "I'm going to room with my auntie, an old lady.  She's got a lovely
place though.  Right in the city."

   "Wow!  Now you are lucky," giggles Alice.  "I'm out in Sloterdijk."

   Alice knows that Sloterdijk is an area of big blocks of flats, but she's
been assured that it's a safe area, and the company have afforded her a
penthouse overlooking the city.

   "Sloterdijk is actually an industrial area.  You probably mean
Slotermeer.  That's where all the big flats are.  But at least you can get
the tram," says Angie.

   Alice searches through the letters and e-mails from her new company.

   "Yes, you're right.  It is Slotermeer.  It's on a street with a very
long name - De Savornin Lohmanstraat.  Such a mouthful!"

   Alice has looked all this up and can't believe she got the name wrong.
She knows its just a short tram trip to her work, although much further
right into the city.

   Angie laughs.

   "We're good at naming our streets.  We often use the full name instead
of shortening it for easy letter writing."

   The two girls laugh together.  A relaxed atmosphere comes between them,
like old friends.

   "I'm happy.  I'll get to know the city first, then maybe move closer
when I find my feet."

   "You have pretty feet!" says Angie, giggling.

   Alice realises that she's wearing summer sandals as she didn't really
have any comfortable shoes.  But as it's quite a warm day, she doesn't feel
out of place.  She's already slipped off her jersey and is relaxed in her
short-sleeve top and jeans.

   Alice laughs.

   "That's the first time anyone has complimented my feet," she laughs.

   "Oh, it's because I do nails, in my spare time," explains Angie,
grinning.  "Maybe I can do your sometime.  You need some work on them."

   Alice blushes.

   "I know.  They've been abused this winter, with all my writing and that
sort of thing, and then moving over here!  Perhaps you could."

   Alice feels that Angie is beginning to chat her up.  She knows that
Amsterdam, and Holland in general, is quite a mecca for lesbians.  She's
not into that sort of thing at all, but at least she can feel safe that a
creepy guy isn't coming on to her.

   "Do you have a boyfriend?" asks Alice suddenly.

   She wants to clear things up right away.

   "I have lots.  The boys find me irresistible," gloats Angie, with a big
smile.  "But I like girls too.  I'm very bisexual!"

   Alice has read that there are many homosexual and bi-sexual girls and
guys in Amsterdam.  She's really quite excited to be about to discover a
scene very new to her.

   "You have a boyfriend?" asks Angie.

   "Actually, not really," Alice replies.  "I've had a few, but none
serious."

   "Would you like to meet me tonight after you've settled in and we'll
meet up with some friends of mine?" suggests Angie.

   "Yes...OK," agrees Alice, a little hesitantly.

   "It's OK.  I'll not let a group of guys loose on you, or girls!"

   Angie laughs and her laughter is so sweet and real.  Alice begins to
tingle a little, something she's never felt in the company of a girl since
early in high school.  Then she experimented, as all girls do, but never
got into anything serious.  She did enjoy herself though, and learnt a lot
about her own body.

   "What time?" asks Alice.

   "Around 8.  We eat late here!"

   "Where shall I meet you?" asks Alice.  "I don't know the city at all."

   "It's OK.  Just come in on the tram to Central Station and I'll be
waiting there for you.  OK?"

   "Do I need a tram ticket?"

   "Yes.  You need to get one at the station.  Oh!  You need to get off
here.  Take the number 1 tram and ask the driver to tell you which stop to
get off at.  They are usually good at that - with tourists."

   "I'm not..." Alice begins, but then grins.  "I guess I look like one
though!"

   "You look nice!" says Angie, a special smile on her face.  "But, yes,
you might need to change for an evening out.  Very casual.  Jeans and T
would be good."

   The train stops again.

   "Off you go.  Tram 1, remember!" Angie cries, pushing Alice and her bag
off the train.  "See you at 8!"

   Alice, suddenly alone again, stops to take a breath.  People are going
everywhere - it's chaotic.  She looks at the various signs and works out
that one of them means 'trams', so she drags her suitcase slowly with her.
She's feeling quite tired now - it's been a long day already.

   She finds the tram number 1 and gets on.  The driver looks at her.

   "Kaart?" he asks.

   "Oh, sorry.  I don't have one.  Where do I get one?"

   The driver, in a typical Dutch accent, but in flawless English,
replies," Oh, you can buy one over there at the newsagent.  It's cheaper
than buying one from me.  Get a strippenkaart.  That's what they're
called."

   "Thanks," smiles Alice, as she rushes off.

   Armed with a strip-ticket, she gets back on board.  The driver tells her
how to stamp the ticket using the machine and she sits down.

   "Can you tell me when to get off for this address?" she shows the
driver.

   "Sure.  It's quite a way!" he explains.

   Lots of other people get on and the tram gets quite full.  It funally
leaves after about 10 minutes and trundles noisily through industrial
buildings and then into a long straight road.

   Alice tries to see which street but then the driver speaks to her.

   "Next stop, Miss," he says, politely.

   The tram stops and Alice, with her big suitcase, gets off, thanking the
driver profusely.

   She finds herself right outside the apartment block in which she is
going to live.  She looks up - and up - and up.  'It must go up 30 floors,'
she thinks.

   She goes up to the concierge, a grumpy looking foreign woman, who seems
to snarl at her.  After finding out that her apartment is ready, she gets
the keys and takes the lift to the top floor.  Actually, the grumpy-looking
woman was very polite to her once she heard she was going to occupy the
penthouse.

   "That's only for special people," the lady observes.

   Alice grins inwardly.  "I'm not that special' she thinks.

   Finally arriving in the rather old lift, on the top floor, she finds
that it has a key to open it.  She struggles to fit one of the four keys
into the lock but it finally comes open.  She wonders how her new friends
will be able to visit her, but decides to worry about that later.

   She opens the lift door into a world of sheer luxury.  Her company are
certainly doing her proud!  Wonderful furniture, loads of open spaces and a
view over the city from one side and into the farmland on the other.  She
takes a deep breath and slumps down on the bed.  She almost drowns!  It's a
water bed and slops around, obviously surprised by Alice's sudden
intrusion.

   "OMG, I'm sorry!" Alice cries to the bed, as if it can talk.

   She jumps up again.

   The bed slops around a bit more until it calms down.

   'A water bed!  That's going to take some getting used to,' she giggles,
her mind already imagining having sex on such a bed.

   Alice strips off and takes a shower in the gorgeously decorated
bathroom. There isn't a bath, but the water is wonderfully hot and there's
masses of it.

   Naked, Alice feels free and very sexy, all of a sudden.  She thinks back
to her new friend Angie and that tingle starts again.

   'Perhaps she'll introduce me to a nice guy tonight?' she thinks, her
fingers absent-mindedly stroking across her breasts.

   Her nipples harden and she feels pleasure flowing throughout her body.
As she washes herself with the silky soap, she finds her mind wandering to
the last time she showered with her latest ex-boyfriend, Micheal.  He had
such soft hands when he caressed her.  He was great at making her cum with
his fingers.  Alice shuddered as her fingers began to imitate his touch.

   (continued in part 2)

   [comments and suggestions to rockyhard4uc@gmail.com]