I AMsterdam

I think that your expectation of Amsterdam really depends on why you have come here. A lot of people hear Amsterdam and they think late nights and smoking copious amounts of MJ. While that is definitely something that you can do here, it is by far not everything that Amsterdam has to offer. Unfortunately, we are only staying for two days, yet at the same time it is nice because this changes our view of the city. I know I can come back when ever I want, so I don't need to go crazy. On the other hand, a lot of people I know who have come to Amsterdam have had to save a lot of money, endure a long trans-Atlantic flight, and probably won't be able to come back. So here is the category of people that (typically) just let it all hang out. I get the impression that there is so so much to see and do in Amsterdam that some people really do themselves a disservice by remaining in a alcohol/drug induced haze. I have not been so absolutely enamored by what a city, since going to San Francisco for the first time.

We are staying in the "museum kwartier" which as the name implies is located right in the middle of a bunch of museums. This area also has street after street of high end shopping. Louis Vuitton and Chanel are literally around the corner from my hotel. The buildings are so chic with beautiful details like rod iron balconies, white trimmed window sills and an array of custom (and what I assume to be original) stained glass windows. The streets are lined with trees and antique light polls, that despite the weather hovering just above freezing, it can only be described as idyllic. Down the street is a huge open space in front of the Rijkmuseum that has the iconic "I AMsterdam" statue in front of it. Is it totally silly that one of my best memories was letting Belle run leash free around the green space? It was almost symbolic of how I was feeling when I saw the pure joy of her chasing after other dogs surround by so many famous museums and architecture.

After settling in to our hotel, Bilderberg Hotel Jan Luyken, we headed out to the Rai convention center for HISWA (the Amsterdam boat show). On a side note, the best way to get around Amsterdam is to purchase a tram pass. We used the free internet on the train to figure out where we needed to go and which tram to use. (You can use google maps and set it give you public transportation directions). Or if you know the area of where you are staying you can always go old fashion and use the tram map at the train station. You can purchase the tickets/passes when you board the tram, usually from the attendant in the back of the tram. We bought a 24 hour "day" ticket, as it will cover us for the duration of our stay. You have to "beep it" (technical term for activate) both when you board the tram and ALSO when you get off. So don't put your ticket away until you are off the tram. We took the 16 line from Amsterdam Centraal Station to "Museumplein" which means museum square. Anyone who has ever used public transportation should be able to figure it out. If you still can't get your barrings and are totally lost, don't panic. Everything is written in English and I would be shocked if you found any person walking around that didn't speak English and/or wasn't willing to help you. From our hotel at the Musuemplein stop we took the 12 line to Victoriaplein and then switched to the 4 line which takes you directly to the Rai convention center. You can't miss it, it is massive. After two hours of boats, paint, decking, and rope, we sat down with a friend of Jan's (because of course he knows someone every where ever he goes) had a Heineken and plotted our evening.

I was really keen on eating Indonesian food while I was here. Indonesia was a former colony of The Netherlands, therefore the food is very popular. Just like how curries and other Indian foods are extremely popular in England. We were fortunate enough to have and I quote, "the best Indonesian restaurant in the entire country"(Sama Sebo) around the corner. However, we were not fortunate enough to get a table. Assuming that we could just, walk in at 8:00 at night and grab a table was a little over ambitious of us. It was tiny and packed with people. It looked fantastic, but it was nothing to worry about. I just put it on the list for next time. We did get some delicious Indian cuisine. You know it is at least semi-decent when there is a table of Indian men enjoying their meal and the owner, plus the kitchen staff are Indian. It was the first time that I ordered vindaloo curry and it was actually spicy. So definite points for that much. Don't ask where it was because I have no idea. We just wandered around until we found something that peaked our interest. 

Finally, the night was in front of us and we headed straight to one of the most famous cafés, Bolle Jan. This place is tiny and what made it seems even more tiny was that it was filled with drunk Dutch comrades singing their beloved folk songs. This café is really famous because both René Froger and André Hazes were discovered there, or something like that. If you want to see Dutch people being proud and, well, Dutch. This is the place to be. Definitely fun, if you can manage to squeeze in.

A few more cafés and a few more horse piss beers (a.k.a. Heineken, Jan's words not mine). We finally called it a night when the roads had sufficiently been saturated by the non-stop rain (huge puddles) and the rain turned to sleet. Nothing too crazy. Sorry to disappoint. Again, I will put "go crazy" on the list for next time. That is what Queen's Day 2013 is for!!!

 This is the only picture of me in Amsterdam. I was sick as could be and it was freezing outside. I was just happy to have enough energy to snap a few pictures of Belle and the flower market. We still had four hours of trains and buses to catch for me to get back into bed.