OK, back to Amsterdam...
As I mentioned, we took a huge cruise ship over to Amsterdam, so we didn't do much on that first day there. We did a little walking around our area, went to a movie (Ironman - you could pass on that one), and took it easy. The place we stayed was a studio apartment, so we had a little kitchen and bathroom; it wasn't huge but it felt pretty homey.
The next day Ryan got in so we were quite a bit more ambitious. We wandered around the city and got well acquainted with the various beers that are brewed in and around Amsterdam. I might also mention here how crazy that city is set up. It's set up like half a bullseye, with the train station right at the top, so every street curves, and if you want to go in a straight line you have to do a lot of zig-zagging through the streets. In addition, all of the streets have crazy names, we stayed right off Neuverbergwoold or something along those lines, just to give you an idea. There were several times that we left Ryan's hotel to return to ours and ended up on the opposite side of his hotel. Ridiculous.One of the days we did the museum thing, visiting the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum. The Anne Frank House was incredible - obviously a little depressing but so interesting. It’s hard to imagine such a quiet, unassuming city being involved in the war and all that went along with it. Walking through the office and then the annex there is a lot of information to take in, with quotes from the diary, tvs showing footage from the war and interviews with one of the helpers, and various artifacts from the house and that time period. Needless to say, it was pretty upsetting, but worth seeing.
The Van Gogh Museum was pretty cool when we finally got there. Because of the wacky city set-up we ended up taking a few detours, but we got there about an hour before closing. There are a bunch of Van Gogh originals and letters to his brother, as well as a brief biography in pieces around the exhibit. There are also originals from artists that influenced him or were influenced by him. That museum is definitely worth checking out if you’re in the neighborhood. There are a few other museums in Amsterdam, but we were museumed out, and decided to call it a day.
One of the days we were in Amsterdam we had an easy day, just hung around Ryan’s pool and relaxed. That was a nice one. Most of the evenings we ate awesome food (they have great Indonesian and Thai food, fyi), and made our way through various bars in the different areas. The red light district, which you’ve probably heard about is just like you might’ve imagined. There really are full length windows lining the streets with half naked ladies on the other side trying to make a living. It’s pretty disturbing, but I guess legalized prostitution works for the Dutch. It’s just so weird to be walking along a cobblestone street with a canal to the side, maybe a few ducks swimming by, someone on a beach cruiser riding by, and then you make a left and there’s a line of windows and almost nude ladies.
Our last day in Amsterdam we rented vespas (no, not motor scooters) and took a ride to the beach. This was the highlight of our visit (actually, I think Ryan’s was leaving the Anne Frank House - way too disturbing), it was so much fun, though a little treacherous in the beginning. We had to start by maneuvering through the narrow streets of Amsterdam to get to the road that would take us to the beach. Though it’s a very bike/vespa friendly city, it’s still a bit confusing to figure out where we were allowed to go.
The way out to the beach was amazing. Part of that was riding the vespas, which are so much fun, but the other part of that was the scenic path we followed, with thatch-roofed windmills dotting the way, and fields with ponies, cows, and sheep, and when we got nearer to the beach, enourmous, gorgeous houses. Once we got to the beach we zoomed by all the traffic with our sweet vespas, and found parking spots amid the thousands of bikes that were already there.
The beach had good and bad parts. Good - At the top of the beach are lavish clubs with pools, chaise lounges, good food, drinks, music, and all the other luxuries often lacking at a beach. Bad - The beach itself was so crowded it was hard to find space to lay down. Good - The sand was really nice, not pebbly and rough like I was sort of expecting. Bad - The water was green and sludgy and freezing. Bill went all the way in and came out covered in a disgusting film. Good or Bad, depending - Lots of bare boobs on these European beaches. It wasn’t totally topless, just enough to make me a little uncomfortable. I think Bill and Ryan were OK with it though, as they went on more than one “booby hunt.” It makes it weird to take pictures at the beach though, because you just feel like a perv. All in all, it was a nice time. I, of course, got burned, and now have a watch tan, which is even less attractive than it sounds.
The way back from the beach was lovely too, but a little bittersweet since we knew we had to give up our Vespas at the end of it. That evening we had some fantastic dinner along a canal for our last meal. The next morning we said goodbye to Ryan at the airport and went to pick up our Euro Car...
The Van Gogh Museum was pretty cool when we finally got there. Because of the wacky city set-up we ended up taking a few detours, but we got there about an hour before closing. There are a bunch of Van Gogh originals and letters to his brother, as well as a brief biography in pieces around the exhibit. There are also originals from artists that influenced him or were influenced by him. That museum is definitely worth checking out if you’re in the neighborhood. There are a few other museums in Amsterdam, but we were museumed out, and decided to call it a day.One of the days we were in Amsterdam we had an easy day, just hung around Ryan’s pool and relaxed. That was a nice one. Most of the evenings we ate awesome food (they have great Indonesian and Thai food, fyi), and made our way through various bars in the different areas. The red light district, which you’ve probably heard about is just like you might’ve imagined. There really are full length windows lining the streets with half naked ladies on the other side trying to make a living. It’s pretty disturbing, but I guess legalized prostitution works for the Dutch. It’s just so weird to be walking along a cobblestone street with a canal to the side, maybe a few ducks swimming by, someone on a beach cruiser riding by, and then you make a left and there’s a line of windows and almost nude ladies.
Our last day in Amsterdam we rented vespas (no, not motor scooters) and took a ride to the beach. This was the highlight of our visit (actually, I think Ryan’s was leaving the Anne Frank House - way too disturbing), it was so much fun, though a little treacherous in the beginning. We had to start by maneuvering through the narrow streets of Amsterdam to get to the road that would take us to the beach. Though it’s a very bike/vespa friendly city, it’s still a bit confusing to figure out where we were allowed to go.
The way out to the beach was amazing. Part of that was riding the vespas, which are so much fun, but the other part of that was the scenic path we followed, with thatch-roofed windmills dotting the way, and fields with ponies, cows, and sheep, and when we got nearer to the beach, enourmous, gorgeous houses. Once we got to the beach we zoomed by all the traffic with our sweet vespas, and found parking spots amid the thousands of bikes that were already there.The beach had good and bad parts. Good - At the top of the beach are lavish clubs with pools, chaise lounges, good food, drinks, music, and all the other luxuries often lacking at a beach. Bad - The beach itself was so crowded it was hard to find space to lay down. Good - The sand was really nice, not pebbly and rough like I was sort of expecting. Bad - The water was green and sludgy and freezing. Bill went all the way in and came out covered in a disgusting film. Good or Bad, depending - Lots of bare boobs on these European beaches. It wasn’t totally topless, just enough to make me a little uncomfortable. I think Bill and Ryan were OK with it though, as they went on more than one “booby hunt.” It makes it weird to take pictures at the beach though, because you just feel like a perv. All in all, it was a nice time. I, of course, got burned, and now have a watch tan, which is even less attractive than it sounds.
The way back from the beach was lovely too, but a little bittersweet since we knew we had to give up our Vespas at the end of it. That evening we had some fantastic dinner along a canal for our last meal. The next morning we said goodbye to Ryan at the airport and went to pick up our Euro Car...
Photos to follow, stay tuned :)
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