   June 22 - June 24, 2003 |
|||||||
| *Before you start the, "Ohhhh, I
see she went
to Amsterdam...::wink wink, nudge nudge::," let me clarify.*
Yes, a whole lot of shenanigans that would get you a hefty fine or jail sentence here, are legal. The government decided why fight it and regulations were the way to go. The crime rate is low and there are some rather happy Amsterdam citizens. Still watch your wallet because pick pocketing is a problem. Believe it or not, there is far more to the town than the Red Light District and "Coffee Shops." Lots of scenery, beautiful architecture, and history! As you'll read, the key word that keeps popping up is "random" because a lot of events just seem crazy and, well, random! |
|||||||
| JUNE 22 : After an overnight train ride with five others in a cabin...only one whom I knew, let's just say I'm glad I had a bed at all! However, nothing readies you for when border patrol jolts you awake by pounding on the door and wants your passport NOW. The waking up and "oh, where did I put it?!" freezes you. Freya and I arrived and hiked through the streets to the Bulldog Inn. The foyer was pretty with star twinkle lights on the ceiling and modern decor. Okay, so our 20 person bedroom was under construction with some holes, but that was okay. We walked downtown and saw a film being shot in the pretty center square where the fountains are and street performers usually set up. It looked like a turn of the century piece. I stopped off at the Anne Frank house and walked through the entire secret annex and saw the famous diary. I met back up with Freya, and we went for some authentic Dutch pancakes and checked out the rest of the town for the day. |
|
||||||
|
JUNE 23 AM : Technically my day started at 3:30 am when a group of guys finished their evening of Amsterdam fun. "Shhhh, where's the window? Is that my bed? Dude! I'm sleeping here, get your own." It took all my might to not fall off my bed and laugh out loud. When we woke for real, Freya left, and I was going to go to a wax museum. Typical, it took me forever to get ready, so I didn't go anywhere. I did talk with the "loud" guys and another girl from Scotland though. When Freya came back we paddle boated through the canals to look at the houseboats and old buildings. After about an hour, we returned to the hostel. We were also running out of clean clothes by this point, so we forked out the seven Euro for a load....yup, do the math. That's about ten bucks for a load of wash!! Dinner: Chinese food. Yum! We found out that people were going on a canal boat ride sponsored by the hostel, and I decided to go. Freya joined in. In a nutshell: led by a older Dutch man who claims his mother sewed the stockings of the women in the red light district years ago, and he was a pimp in the 60's-70's. He displayed his disgust for the government that wants to try to build a subway under the town and crazy stories about other citizens of the area. He has a point seeing the Netherlands are at a very low elevation, under sea level actually, and the buildings are rather old. | ||||||
| JUNE 23 PM : The
night needs its own space...It started off when the late night guys and
the girl from Scotland said they were going out. Freya chose to stay,
but
I was ready to see some nightlife. We started off by walking to the
downtown
area to stop at an Irish Pub for a pint or two. We picked up these two
Irish guys and added them to our group. I was talking to one of the
guys
about figure skating and the Scot was like, "Oh, you skate!?!"
Apparently,
she's this super amazing figure skater who won the European Junior
Grand
Prix a few years back! Next stop was a British pub. It was some guy's
birthday
(the asst. manger I think), so the owner started bringing out
appetizers
and comping everything for us. We also suspected he was interested in
one
of the guys was with us since he seemed to get a lot more obvious
attention
than the rest of us. The manager then broke open a bottle of Dom for us
to share. I now understand why it is expensive. Our group moved on to a
dance club where the two Irish guys bought drink after drink...one of
them
had just inherited a nice amount of Euro, so that made it easier for
him
to do so. To give you an idea, Red Bull and vodkas cost
about
10 US dollars a pop, and these guys were buying round after round for
seven
people!! (I really wish I caught their names because he and his friend
were super cool, money or not.) We talked briefly about sports
because
one of them mentioned his county had gotten into the Hurling finals,
and
he was super excited about it...which made sense when I got to
Ireland.
We then go on to get some food, meanwhile the Scot and I are outside
practicing
our skating jumps. So she was working on double axel combinations and
footwork
while I was doing singles, but still! The guys, and probably the
residents,
thought we were nuts.
We then go onto another dance place. Okay, side note here...it is HIGHLY obnoxious to have to worry about having change to use the toilets. (Yes, that is what they are called...bathroom is uber American.) Anyway, I start swing dancing with one of the guys. I felt badly for not bringing my tiny purse because when I was dancing, I'm sure I knocked some people out. Oops! I tried to get one of the Irish guys to dance and he does briefly, but says he can't dance. His friend wouldn't dance either. By this point it was also his birthday so we celebrated all around. We leave at about 3 because everything was closing. Somewhere we lost the Irish, which made me sad, but arrived back at the Bulldog where a few of us stayed up and chatted until about 5. Okay here's the funny story that has become a favorite of my friends: So one of the guys got up and was gone for a minute or two. I then sense someone standing behind the couch. I reach back blindly and tapped who I thought was the guy and said, "Hi sweetie, you came back. I thought you were leaving us." I hear laughing and look up. It was the bartender of the hostel! (Oh, that's another thing. The drinking age is 18, so the very youth oriented hostel has a bar that is the hangout for guests.) Anyway, I start apologizing and turn about 12 shades of red. He continues laughing and literally jumps over the back of the couch to sit down and try to pick me up for a fling. (Kudos for his bluntness, but really. Like I said, they are really direct in Europe...) After an "interesting" conversation, I gracefully made my exit and went upstairs to change for the next day and try to shower so I'm not horribly gross for the ride to Paris. I think I got about an hour of sleep. Oh what a fun night though!! All I have to say is in Amsterdam, it's all about the fun, and I definitely had an eyeful during the trip. |
|||||||
| JUNE 24 : Time
to leave.
We catch the early train to Paris and leave the welcoming city of
Amsterdam.
Surprisingly, most everyone speaks perfect English and they don't make
you feel guilty for not knowing Dutch. In fact one of the people who
randomly
started talking to me in the Chinese restaurant asked in Dutch what I
ordered.
I must have looked looked absolutely blank and then asked what he said
in English please. I got a big smile, an apology and a restatement in
perfect
English. I don't know why he thought I was Dutch seeing that they are
all
beautiful thin model looking people. (They aren't consumed with thin
though.
They just are because they bike around and walk all the time.) The hostel desk clerk often was singing and dancing behind the counter and EVERYONE talks to you. If you are shy or don't like people randomly talking to you, it can be avoided, but this town is made for the social. This city is fun for both the sheltered and seasoned traveler! A great time even if you are "good" when you're there. I plan on coming back seeing I missed out on some great museums and other landmarks. You can even rent bikes to travel through the Dutch countryside and look at the windmills. Two days are definitely not enough for this place. |
|||||||
