Amsterdam, The Netherlands

We left Dusseldorf a little late on Sunday, not because we wanted to but because the train to Amsterdam afforded us a two hour layover. We gladly sat in the station Starbucks and made the best of the free internet. A few hours and a couple of early morning crazy people later, we finally boarded the high speed train heading for the Netherlands. The trip in total is about two hours and it was very comfortable. Trains are far better than planes, any day. Once we arrived, we were caught up in the commotion of what I hoped was the weekend rush. There were people everywhere, and all the tourist traps are right outside of the station. Within five minutes, someone tried to pickpocket from Mark’s bag, but his attempt was futile as Mark recognized right away what was happening. That guy wasn’t going to get anything anyway, that bag was locked down. Although, I think that soured our mood, that and carrying around twenty-five pound bags from here to there. We went back into the station looking for a place to use the internet when we came across the “first class members” lounge. That’s when we realized that our Eurail tickets allow us to use these facilities. We were able to locate a nice hotel outside of the crowded areas at a reasonable price. We had such a busy day trying to navigate the city and trying not to get run over by the thousands of bicyclists in the city that we took ‘er easy for the night.

A few things we learned about Amsterdam right away: bicyclists outnumber vehicles and they will hit you without remorse. It seems as though everyone who lives there gets the same steel, retro-60's standard issue cruiser bike upon moving to the city (at least that's what I think). Also, the Dutch are in love with fried foods and food from vending machines. Everyone spoke English very well and was very friendly and eager to help. The city is a very busy place filled mostly with tourists. The next morning we headed down the street to a café, not a coffeeshop (be warned). After that it was back toward the train station to embark on the first of what we hope to be several free New Europe tours. The walking tours are given usually by students or young English speaking residents for gratuity only. The tour lasted just over three hours and we certainly absorbed a lot of Amsterdam's history and culture. It's such a picturesque place with the encompassing canals and old brick houses. One thing we noticed is that many of the buildings have very narrow and steep spiral stairways. Apparently this is very typical of the design. And because of that, when bringing in large pieces of furniture or what not, the Dutch have a hook and pulley system at the top of every building to hoist the items up and through the window. What's more interesting is that at one point, some developer thought it would be a good idea if the houses leaned forward a bit, to prevent the item from hitting the side of the house. It took them a while to figure out that all they needed to do was extend the hook and pulley. Therefore, a lot of the older houses in the city look crooked and slanty. The history of the Netherlands during WW2 is very bleak, indeed. The Dutch pride themselves on being of the most tolerant people, defending their citizens regardless of race or religion. And because of that they suffered greatly.


When our tour was over, we went to the Anne Frank House Museum. It is the actual house where she and seven others hid for just over two years before being discovered by the Nazis. It has been restored to look very similar to the conditions they lived in during their time in hiding, which were actually pretty good. However, being locked away for so long certainly had mental ramifications. It was incredibly surreal to be there, it's going to be difficult going to Auschwitz next month.


After so much walking we decided to catch a tram back to the hotel. One thing is certain, navigating Amsterdam's tram system can be a challenge sometimes. We accidentally stayed on a tram too long that took us way outside of the city and had to wait at the turn-around station for forty minutes before another train took us back in. We finally got the hang of it, sort of. But because of that we didn't make it back to the hotel and decided to make our way the Red Light District. We don't have any photos of this place for two reasons: one because I really didn't want to take photos of prostitutes and two you can't take any and if the prostitutes catch you, they'll literally grab your camera and smash it on the ground. You'll be lucky if that's all they do after that. I mean, what can I say? No trip to Amsterdam would be complete without wandering around the alleys with girls behind windows, red fluorescent lights highlighting the streets, waiting for work. And it's a legitimate job for these ladies, they rent their spaces and pay taxes like everyone else. I don't know if it's considered good work, but who am I to judge. The most interesting part, I thought, was that there is a Catholic church right in the center of the district, although it is no longer in service. Apparently that was a main port back in the day and the church knew that once the sailors were off the ship, they'd go straight for the ladies of the night. So, the church allowed the sailors to confess their sins afterword. At one point, that behavior was so expected that the church offered a chance to confess before any sinful deeds were done, at a price, of course. It was an interesting experience, to say the least.


The next day was gray and rainy, a stark contrast to the previous day. We loaded up at the breakfast buffet at the hotel, checked out and headed for the train station to stuff our bags into lockers. We purchased a "city pass" that, for a flat fee, gets us unlimited tram rides, free museum entrances and a canal boat tour for the day. Our first stop was the Van Gogh museum which boasts works from the artist's early days up until the year he died. It was quite a collection with several of his more famous works ("Starry Night" is in NY, go figure). It's weird, though, because some of the images, like his most famous self-portrait, on ones we've seen over and over thousands of times. But the one that was right in front of me was the original, painted by Vincent himself. It's hard to wrap your head around it, sometimes. After that we took a canal tour, which takes you around through the neighborhoods and off into the harbor while giving you bits of history here and there. It wasn't very exciting, but I suppose it's one of those things that you do if you're a tourist in Amsterdam. By that point, we were both starting to feel ill and getting a little cranky. We had plans to go to a few more museums, but they were either closed or required more money on top of the passes we'd already purchased, so we decided to end our sightseeing. For the most part, everyone in the city was friendly and gladly spoke English with us, until we went to this one restaurant. They were incredibly rude, and it was only because we were tourists and, probably even worse, Americans. By that point, we were ready to get out of Amsterdam. We saw what we wanted to, and it was time to leave. We both feel like we can check Amsterdam off our list, and we probably won't return for an encore. Many of the preconceived notions that we all have about Amsterdam are more or less true. However, we definitely felt safe wandering around the city. And if anyone is wondering, no, we did not go into a coffeeshop. But they were so abundant that you could smell the stank in the streets.

Next up: night train to Copenhagen, then onto Stockholm