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| Just another lovely street in Amsterdam |
We started off by just wandering towards our hotel, which was in the center of the city. We actually went too far at first -- we were surprised by just how close it was -- but it was nice to see some little canal streets that we might not have normally seen. Our hotel was located right on one of Amsterdam's many canals that wind throughout the city, and it was an absolutely beautiful view.
Needless to say, this most beautiful area of Amsterdam also happens to be its red light district. Our hotel was conveniently (just kidding) located above a sex shop, and the entire street was lined with similarly weird stores. It was slightly shocking to remember just how relaxed Amsterdam's laws are, especially when we walked past window after window of prostitutes waving at passers-by.
Despite how horrible all of that might sound, Amsterdam felt surprisingly safe and pretty calm. I suppose part of that could be attributed to the fact that several people seemed to be smoking pot -- old, young, and in between. Certain streets had more "coffee shops" than others (any store called a "coffee shop" sold drugs, unlike the "cafés"), but we could smell weed all over the place. Some stores even advertised shrooms and who knows what other drugs. Nevertheless, the locals were all very friendly and didn't seem to treat marijuana like it was a big deal at all. They all spoke flawless English too -- probably the best I've heard in Europe so far -- so it was easy to navigate the city.
After meandering for a while, we walked to the western side of town to see the Anne Frank house. After a very long wait, we got to see where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis. It was extremely cramped and the tour was obviously very moving. After seeing that house, I'm eager to see Auschwitz in a week. The house was one thing, but seeing the death camp will be totally unreal.
On a happier note, after leaving that museum and having some serious discussions, we went into an architectural bookstore. I had forgotten how influential the Dutch are in modern architecture; I was drooling over all the pictures of cool Rem Koolhaas designs. (Google him or his firm, OMA, if you haven't seen his stuff!)
We ended up at an Italian restaurant for dinner, which turned out to be a rather poor decision because our food took almost 2 hours to arrive. I had wanted to find a non-touristy restaurant with some local cuisine, but we couldn't find anything. It was rather difficult to find anything genuinely Dutch in the busy parts of Amsterdam... it was such a mish-mash of cultures that I still couldn't quite say what Dutch cuisine even is. There were lots of Belgian waffles, French crepes, and Argentinean steaks available... but I guess the only purely Dutch things I saw were Heineken and Amstel beers.
Anyway, the next day, we walked to the southern end of town to see the Van Gogh Museum. It only had a couple of his most famous works, but it was still worth seeing. After that, Brittany and I grabbed lunch and sketched the famous "I AMsterdam" statue nearby. Once the rest of the group joined us, we took the typical tourist route by climbing all over the statue and taking corny photos.
We sat down in the Leidseplein plaza area after having some difficulty crossing a street on which a marathon was taking place. We unfortunately missed the city tour we wanted to take, and the tour of the original Heineken brewery was too expensive. Instead, being the dedicated architects that we are, we walked back through the canal streets and sketched a lot. Lots of people were watching us and taking photos -- it was pretty funny. Eventually, it was too cold to continue, so we wandered back towards the red light district to find a restaurant for dinner. After eating some cheap falafel (so much international cuisine!), my roommates and I headed back to Amsterdam's "Centraal Station" for the train ride home.
Overall, my impressions of Amsterdam and the Netherlands as a whole were great. Even the trip getting there was beautiful: it was common to see cows grazing in pastures beneath old wooden windmills. Now that I've seen most of the main tourist sites in Amsterdam, I would love to go back and meet more locals -- especially to discover Holland's real cuisine and to get a better understanding of its relaxed attitude!
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| Our great hotel location..... |
After meandering for a while, we walked to the western side of town to see the Anne Frank house. After a very long wait, we got to see where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis. It was extremely cramped and the tour was obviously very moving. After seeing that house, I'm eager to see Auschwitz in a week. The house was one thing, but seeing the death camp will be totally unreal.
On a happier note, after leaving that museum and having some serious discussions, we went into an architectural bookstore. I had forgotten how influential the Dutch are in modern architecture; I was drooling over all the pictures of cool Rem Koolhaas designs. (Google him or his firm, OMA, if you haven't seen his stuff!)
We ended up at an Italian restaurant for dinner, which turned out to be a rather poor decision because our food took almost 2 hours to arrive. I had wanted to find a non-touristy restaurant with some local cuisine, but we couldn't find anything. It was rather difficult to find anything genuinely Dutch in the busy parts of Amsterdam... it was such a mish-mash of cultures that I still couldn't quite say what Dutch cuisine even is. There were lots of Belgian waffles, French crepes, and Argentinean steaks available... but I guess the only purely Dutch things I saw were Heineken and Amstel beers.
Anyway, the next day, we walked to the southern end of town to see the Van Gogh Museum. It only had a couple of his most famous works, but it was still worth seeing. After that, Brittany and I grabbed lunch and sketched the famous "I AMsterdam" statue nearby. Once the rest of the group joined us, we took the typical tourist route by climbing all over the statue and taking corny photos.
Overall, my impressions of Amsterdam and the Netherlands as a whole were great. Even the trip getting there was beautiful: it was common to see cows grazing in pastures beneath old wooden windmills. Now that I've seen most of the main tourist sites in Amsterdam, I would love to go back and meet more locals -- especially to discover Holland's real cuisine and to get a better understanding of its relaxed attitude!
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