Amsterdamming It

On Monday we took an early train from Rotterdam to Amsterdam. Rotterdam had been nice enough but we were really looking forward to meeting up with Edward and Alex and seeing the prettier sights of Amsterdam. The train ride was awful though - we were squished in the corridor as they had obviously overbooked the train which was supposed to have designated seats, and our ticket was never checked. One booth had 3 staff members of the rail service sitting inside when it had seats for 6. They never checked any rail tickets, just one of them stood up for the stops and folded her arms in front of the door so than noone would enter their booth. They sat in there with their shoes off and feet up on the seats, one picking his nose, another playing with his feet and then sniffing his fingers. We couldn't get over it! It was an absolute relief to get on the train as we had to stand up all the way from Rotterdam to Amsterdam while this bizarre behaviour went on. We went to check in to our hotel, The Old Quarter. It had a beautiful pub on the first floor with a really warm cosy feel and fantastic decor - intricate embossed wall paper, soft lighting, faded wedding photos on the walls of couples from the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s, and booths that looked like old train seats with luggage racks above and a few battered old leather suitcases perched on them.

We really scored with the accommodation, the downstairs bar was so cute and our room itself, while plain, had its own bathroom, lots of light and an incredible view of the canal. Straight below the window was a drop down to the water! We were three stories up and very pleased.

After we checked in we had a drink downstairs with Edward and Alex. It was time for lunch so the boys suggested we got to Wok And Walk, a great little noodle bar where you select your base, ingredients and sauce. Affordable and very tasty. With tummies full of noodles, vegies and chilli we explored the area a bit. We realised that technically we are staying in the red light district! It is not too seedy though, our street is lively and full of cafes, bars and 'coffee shops' as well as a few adult shops but is comparitively tame compared to the true red light area with its many windows. Edward and Alex showed us where to catch trams and we headed to Leidesplein, the quieter entertainment quarter. The boys were staying at The Flying Pig, a well known party spot and hostel very popular among Australians. It had a cheap bar downstairs and a kitchen area so the boys were well set up! Leidesplein is very close to the beautiful Vondelpark. We went there next and sat by the water. We watched the ducks and other unfamilar and strange waterbirds. There were some little black birds that had huge feet that didn't seem to match their tiny bodies, like a person walking awkwardly in flippers or clown shoes! It was was really pretty and a nice place just to relax and birdwatch. We headed back into town for dinner in a funny little kebab shop and to Pinocchio's Pub across the road from our hotel. The bartender gave us full control of the music and gave us all free drinks when we counted down to Ed's birthday! We chatted to a few funny people and generally had a great night.


Tuesday was Edward's birthday. After a sleep in the boys met us at our hotel. We walked around the area a bit and had lunch at a restaurant with an old carousel in the centre. Afterwards we went to the Heineken Brewery which was fascinating even to those among us who are not huge fans of beer (i.e. me). We toured a museum that told the story of the brewery being founded and passed down in the family, and saw the raw ingredients, different implements from making beer in earlier years, and finally the large machinery that is used to produce Heineken beer now. At the end we got to take some fun pictures and try some of the beer. We got a few extra beer tokens because it was Ed's birthday too!

We decided to get ready for the evening so the boys went back to the hostel for a shower and we walked back to our hotel. I had barely gone 3 steps when I was hit by a bicycle. The cyclist was very angry with me for stepping in the bike lane, but seriously, I had looked both ways and he was miles away and obviously going too fast. The bikes in Amsterdam are crazy - they go in either direction and are not in directional lanes, they go on either side of the road, the bike paths are totally unclear most of the time, marked only by a slightly different coloured pavement, they have no speed limits, no helmets and no lights on the bikes at night, the cyclists ride around crazily in pedestrian only zones, and the bike paths are used also by scooters, motorbikes, and even tiny two person smartcars. We saw four people piled on one bike, many cyclists riding whilst talking on their mobile, eating, drinking or smoking, and the most spectacularly dangerous one was a man riding with one hand on the handlebars and the other pushing a wobbly pram with a tiny baby in it alongside his bike! I am all for choosing to ride for a variety of reasons, not least of which is for the environment, but I found the bikes pretty terrifying and the riders very reckless and arrogant. They would slow down for other bikes but not pedestrians, and often fly through red lights. They were chained all over the city, sometimes blocking the footpath completely. Anyway, I nursed my damaged arm and my damaged pride and got ready for the night. In the evening we ended up having dinner at the same Shoarma kebab shop again but went for the turkish pizza this time. It was very cheap and quite tasty, rolled up and covered in salad. Afterwards we bar hopped a bit, and even took a walk around the infamous red light district! It was pretty eye opening but not really that dangerous. There is actually some decent security in the area to protect the women dancing in the windows and beckoning their 'clients'. It is at least good to know that these young women are quite safe, and noone was really disrespecting them. There were just lots of curious onlookers - some of them conservative looking couples at retirement age! As with Barcelona and Rome, we simply kept our hands on the stuff in our pockets and none of us got pickpocketed. There is a bit of drug pushing in the area but as long as you keep your head down and just keep walking it really isn't a problem. We ended up in Pinocchio's pub again, right across the street from Hotel Old Quarter. Again the bartender let us choose the music and the drinks were well priced. It was a really fun day and so good to spend Ed's birthday with him.


In the morning on Wednesday we had to say a sad goodbye to Edward and Alex. The tears held off until after they left but it was pretty upsetting to see them go and not be sure when we will be together again. Even though they are now miles apart it is pretty clear that David feels very close to his brother. We moped around a bit in the morning, eating our hotel breakfast and watching a bit of Seinfeld on the laptop to try and cheer us up. We perked up a bit with some lunch at Wok to Walk again. Super spicy and healthy! Then we walked to the Marijuana Museum to learn about the history of the plant, its many uses, and why it is actually legal in Holland. We saw some of the plants growing as well! They were very smelly.

When we had seen enough of peace pipes, organic plastics and hemp pants we headed back to the hotel to get ready for a reunion with my old uni friend Tahlia who is living in Amsterdam as a nanny. We met her at Rembrandtplein, the trendy cafe, pub and club centre of the city. We walked around the square and talked. It had been a good 3 or 4 years since we had seen each other and it was great to catch up as well as have a local's advice on what to see, do and eat in the city. We settled at Coco's Australian pub, a local favourite. It was a good walk from our hotel and we had missed dinner so David and I had a cheeky burger on the long trek home.


On Thursday we decided to have a really good walk around the city and go a bit further than we had before. We walked a long and indirect way to the Anne Frank Museum. We got to see the house where her family lived in the secret annex and she wrote her diary of her experiences. It is unfurnished as her father, Otto Frank wished it to stay. Her pictures on the original wall paper have been cut out in sections and mounted on the newly restored wall under perspex. There are quotes from her diary all over the place, and screens showing interviews with her father and friends after the war. It was a very moving experience and quite upsetting.

David and I came away with a particular sense of sorrow for her father. We walked around in silence for a while feeling really quite upset. Eventually we agreed that it was time for lunch and headed to Leidseplein. We found a pub called 'Hole In The Wall' that served small tapas plates for two. Afterwards we walked to Museumplein for a wander beside the water and a visit to the Van Gogh gallery. It was excellent and we got a deal on a canal cruise for the next day. I especially loved the woman in the green dress which was intended as a tribute to motherhood and meant to be displayed between Van Gogh's two best sunflower paintings. I had never noticed the string wrapped around her finger which was to show that she is rocking a cradle across the room. Apparently Van Gogh was also interpreting the madonna and child differently! There were four levels with works by Van Gogh himself as well as a range of artists who influenced his work at the time. We passed by some pretty markets but at this point we were exhausted and it was getting quite late so we caught the tram back to Dam Square, as close as we could get to the hotel. Over the road we bought some Chinese and Malaysian food - duck, soup and super spicy pork. An excellent end to the day!


On Friday we got our packing out of the way so that we would not have to do it in the evening. Our packs are getting alarmingly heavy at this late stage of the trip! We then went to the station where we bought dreadfully overpriced train tickets to take us to Cologne the next day, totally blowing our budget. All the other train trips have been no more than 26 euro each for any long journey in Italy, Belgium or Holland. These were 60 each! There was nothing for it but I really wished I had tried for a cheap flight instead. The staff at the station were really rude to us too. We walked out annoyed and worried about money. We went to the Erotica Museum which was cheap and a bit of a giggle but mostly pretty silly.

Afterwards we went to the grotty fast food shop 'Febo' to try a croquette on the advice of one of my workmates who was here. It was a small, fried piece of saucy meat and soft filling. Definitely not the most satisfying or nutritional lunch but certainly interesting! We walked down to explore some more of the outer area of Leidesplein. It is such a pretty place. We shared an ice cream and then hopped on the last canal cruise of the day. It was a beautiful way to see the city and there was a bit of audio commentary as well. We sat opposite a nice older businessman from Florida who was just in for a meeting in the morning and wanted to see as much of the city as he could that day. He asked us about our travels and we talked about some of our favourite places.

After the cruise we went back to the gorgeous pub at our hotel for a traditional Dutch meal. I had a wonderful brown bean soup and David had potato and endive mash with a big meatball. Afterwards we went back to Rembrandtplein to meet up with Tahlia for drinks, followed by late night snacks- stroopwaffels!