AMSTERDAM!!!
Hey Everyone!Well it took a little bit of time to recover, but it's finally time to tell you all about Kevin and I's time in Amsterdam. We left Kev's place at 10:30 am on Thursday morning, with just enough time to catch our 11:00 train to Gatwich Airport, from which we would be flying. Flying from Gatwick is a lot cheaper than flying from Heathrow, thus the extra effort to get there. Besides, Heathrow is a monster of an airport, and getting through security and such would have been a whole different nightmare all its own.
Anyway, we arrived at London Gatwick a little bit before noon, and since our flight was at 1:35, we had a bit of time to wait. We tried to get some lunch, but because of the ludacris prices at the airport restaurants, we had to settle for McDonald's (ick). Soon enough, though, we were on our way to Amsterdam via Easyjet, and we landed at Amsterdam Schipol Airport at about 3:45 (hour flight plus hour time change). Immediately, the excitement of the trip was evident, as we had a blast just looking at all of the ads that were up in Dutch, the zaniest language ever. I honestly have no idea how anyone can speak it quickly, its words have more extra letters and silent letters than English words have in their entirety, and the whole thing sounds very difficult. At any rate, it was okay, because unlike most Americans (and most Brits), almost everyone in Holland is at least fluent in two languages, and just about everyone speaks brilliant English.
After taking a train from Schipol to Amsterdam Station Centraal (yes, the two a's both belong), we emerged into a whole different world. The Oulde Zildje (old city), where the station and our hostel are, is like no place I've ever seen. The streets are narrow and mainly made of cobblestone, and what little space to travel in must be shared by cars, trams (think T trains on the streets in Boston), pedestrians, but most importantly bicycles. Honestly, while it's true that there are more museums per square mile in Amsterdam than anywhere else in the world, it's probably also true that there are more bicycles there than anywhere else as well. Everywhere we went there wer dozens of bikes chained to just about every fixture that could be seen, and most of the streets had cycle lanes exclusively for bikes, though those often filled and many bikes also travled on the sidewalks and on the streets. We must have been nearly run over a hundred times in two and a half days. Intense. I think that the masse of bikes can be attributed to the general attitude of the Dutch, and to their attitudes towards environmentally friendly transport and good health. It's a model upon which other cities, especiallty London, should base themselves.
The second remarkable thing about Amsterdam is the canals, which are beautiful. Between every two streets in the old city are canals with bridges crossing them to connect the streets, and along the canals are the most beautiful old buildings, with grand old European architecture. Many have been there for nearly 800 years. Within the canals are a myriad of water birds, from mundane seagulls and ducks to beautiful little black birds with white beaks and majestic swans. On occasion, a river tour boat passed by, but mainly the canals I think are relics of the past, once used to defend the city but now just a part of its grandeur. Also, the lack of railings along the canals lets people get very close to the water, which makes the whole experience just feel that much more real.
So Thursday, after touching down, checking into our hostel, and spending some time just taking in our new surroundings, we decided to first get something to eat. We ended up at this little Italian place that made excellent (and fairly big) pizzas for only 6 euros, a far cry from London prices! Next, we decided that we would try to find Amsterdam's gay neighborhood, Amstel/Reguliersdwars. We ended up at a little coffee shop called Betty's Too, which was totally decked out in Betty Boop paraphernalia. After a coffee and some relaxation there, we continued to explore Amstel and the nearby areas, just wandering around the streets. The dynamic of the city is remarkable, with a sort of controlled "anything goes" attitude prevailing in most respects.
Later that night, we decided to, for experience's sake, take a trip to the infamous red light district. While I won't describe exactly what goes on there, it is a sight to behold I assure you. I wouldn't want to spoil the experience for anyone who may visit it in the future, as the shock and awe of it all is a vital part of the experience for a Westerner (with the possible exception of someone from Las Vegas).
Friday, we slept in a bit before embarking into the city to do some of the more touristy things. We checked out the Amsterdam Dungeon (waste of time and money)--where we had to slot in with a huge British family on holiday--and afterwards went to a little café for lunch. The place was mostly unremarkable except for the friendly resident cat. Missing our kitty so much, we were of course delighted at the chance to pet a friendly coffeeshop kitty. Next, we walked down to the museum quarter, where many of Amsterdam's famous museums are. We walked by the massive Riks Museum, which mainly exhibits works by Rembrandt, and ended up going to the Van Gogh museum just down the road. While it was beautiful inside, and the artwork was of course stunning, it was about as much fun as an art museum can be.
On the way back to the hostel, we walked by a little mini-market and happened to notice a young kitten sitting in the doorway that looked remarkably like our cat! So of course we had to detour to pet this one too. We also had a brief chat with the store's owner, and seemed to connect over our love for our cats. In reference to the movie Euro Trip, we dubbed this kitty Vaandercat.
That night consisted mainly of some more wandering, including the exploration of a mall-like complex near the Reguliersdwars, but we did end up having a fairly deep conversation with a coffeeshop owner and another patron of the shop late in the evening. The topic was U.S. foreign policy and Iraq, and it was simply remarkable how much two ordinary citizens of Holland happened to know about the world around them and how articulately they were able to voice their opinions on the matter in what was obviously their second language. It just made me think a lot about Americans and Brits, and how little of the world around them many of them seem to understand or want to know anything about. If I can say one thing about the Dutch people that I've encountered, it's that they do pay attention, and they do force themselves to learn.
Saturday, we simply did some more wandering about the area just east of where we were staying. Here, we walked by the Jewish History Museum and strolled through an area of fairly affluent-looking homes. The combination of the beautiful craftsmanship and the cobble-canal backdrop made the area simply gorgeous. Other small items of note were a frantic dog wandering about at highspeed--but still seeming like he knew where he was going, an Italian coffeeshop with the attitude that the customer is always wrong, an anarchist bookstore, and another vaandercat named smokey that took particular affection to Kevin as we ate at another small café.
Exhausted, we returned home Saturday night and spent Sunday doing pretty much nothing at all. But the experience was so worth it because if finally gave us the chance to see something new, an entirely new worldview in action! Be sure to check out the pictures page (the link is in another blog entry below) for an update with pictures from this amazing trip.
Till next time!
posted by Zachary Nicholson @ 11:54 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home