Amsterdam: 4th-7th Feb

The 10mins on the train just before we reached Amsterdam Central train station I was a little concerned. The graffiti and dodgy apartment blocks left a lot to be desired. On the up side when we stepped off the train it was warmer than Freiburg and we found our Hotel with ease.

That afternoon we decided to see the famous Anna Franks house (after reading her inspirational novel some years ago) which was within walking distance of the hotel. It really was an educational experience and you really could feel a presence in the rooms in which they lived for those two years. Trying to climb up the renowned creaky stairs without making any noise was virtually impossible and to think they had to do that daily and whisper for fear of their neighbors’ hearing which would ultimately lead to their death. That night we went out for dinner at a really good Thai restaurant, a hard decision as the surrounding streets were beaming with numerous selections of cuisine.

The following day we decided to go on a walking tour which was free and allowed you to tip at the end if you enjoyed the experience. We met at the international monument at 11am to be welcomed by a large group of tourists and a hilarious Australian tour guide (who moved to Amsterdam 6yrs ago).

(our group standing by the international monument or phalic monument as our tour guide stated)

In three hours we passed through the renowned Red Light District (the oldest prostitute was 76 and posed in a window with a big cigar), we were told by our tour guide that the lady’s rent a window for €100 for 8hrs and charge around €50> per customer. He also said that if you want to trick your male friends to send them down the blue/red light street…..they may be shocked when they find themselves with a transsexual ;).

We then saw the Hemp & Marijuana Museum, came across many churches which were no longer used for religious purposes, passed Jew central, Royal Palace, the famous coffee shop called the ‘Bulldog’ where a fat stoner cat sat in the window ALL day.

(the famous Bull dog caffee)

(the stoner cat that sat in the bull dog window 24/7)

The Squatters suburb was interesting, buildings were brightly covered with graffiti. Apparently if no one has lived in a house for a year you can automatically just move in and claim it as your own!!! Crazy.

We witnessed the widest bridge and smallest house (below). Apparently you pay less tax if your house is narrow!

We learnt that the city was built 1m under sea level, hence the numerous canals and windmills that pumped all the water out to sea. We noted that many of the houses were leaning severely (or sinking) and the gaps were just filled with concrete to stop them from leaning back the other way.

On our last day in Amsterdam we headed to the local markets. It was bustling with people all there to snag a bargain or to collect their weekly groceries. We were there to just have a ‘look’ but it ended up with the three of us making purchases, Joel collected an extremely warm and funky jumper whilst Sarah and I lashed out and bought ourselves a beautiful genuine leather jacket each. Sarah chose a classic Black one and I decided to live on the edge and get a Blue one. Just one word to describe them…Love…haha how girls are so easily pleased by shopping. On our last night we decided to go to the famous Boom Comedy Show which was great fun, we were just glad that we were sitting upstairs so we didn’t get targeted to come up on stage and be totally embarrassed by the crew!

All in all the last couple of days were better than expected. We learnt to be very cautious crossing the road as there are literally a million people that ride bikes and scooters in this city. Apparently 20 000 bikes get fished out of the canals each year, and if your bike is stolen there is a 1/3 change of buying your bike back at a later date. There are also 2.5tourists killed by trams per year, not surprising seeing as the pavements merge with the rail tracks, which then merge with the bike paths. We also learnt the difference between a Café and a Coffee Shop. The law states you can sell/grow marijuana as long as you don’t advertise it (i.e. you can’t call your shop “best pot in town”…..instead you call it “Joe’s Coffee shop”) this way its legal, the police are not concerned and everyone is happy.

(The Nuns court yard)

All in all it was actually a really cool city, when you moved away from the Red Light District, the canals were really pretty and the cobble stone streets combined with the lovely apartments made it enjoyable to walk around. There was plenty of activities and shops to keep you busy, but I think 3 nights was sufficient to get a taste of Amsterdam life. If I was to come back, I would make it a summer expedition and venture out to the country to see the fields of flowers with the windmills, unfortunately because its winter it’s not so pretty because everything is deciduous and dead. Nevertheless good fun! Good bye Amsterdam, Hello Brussels!

(couple of different modes of transport...above & below...not sure which would be faster?)