Amsterdam - A World In Itself

Last stop on the trip, Amsterdam. Firstly, it was everything and nothing like I expected (Im sure Ill explain myself throughout the post). My stay in Amsterdam started off with a little bout of homesickness partly because of the nice scenery on the train ride through the country from Berlin to Amsterdam, and partly because I realized once I got there that it probably wasn't going to be much fun being there alone. So once I finally got to my hostel (after getting lost of course) I sat up on my top bunk and tried to make a little plan of what I wanted to see and do (Heineken Factory, Anne Frank House, Free Tour, eat pancakes, etc.) The first night I just hung out in the room and down at the bar with the some costa ricans who were sharing the room.

The next day I headed out in search of some warmer boots. Once I got to the main shopping street, I was kicking myself for not coming to Amsterdam first. The street was full of shoe stores, clothing stores, music stores, etc. all with different selections (something that here is Spain is almost impossible since a large % of the stores are owned my the same man) I quickly found a nice cute little pair of dark blue boots with a nice fuzz inside to keep my toes toasty (they were perfectly!!) Then headed over to the meeting spot for the free tour.

In most cities the tour is run in both English and Spanish, but I'd stuck to the English ones. I decided it was time to shake things up a little, and joined the Spanish tour group. The tour guide was a funny guy that made lots of jokes about Amsterdam, and was also really laid back (who knows why....). I had a great time on the tour and succeeded in being the only person to fall flat on my butt during the tour. At the end I was really proud of myself for understanding ALL (not almost all, but ALL) of the tour!
Some of the things I saw:


an Amsterdammer Bike -------------- Swans swimming in the frozen canal


Amsterdam's oldest house ------ Amsterdam's skinniest house (1m wide)

Pee deflector ------------------ Frozen canals infront of Anne Frank house

Since the tour ended at the Anne Frank house I decided that would be my next stop.

The Anne Frank house isn't actually the Frank's house. It's actually where the Secret Annexe was, above Otto Frank's (her dad) shop. Luckily because it's winter, the house wasn't packed full (which I imagine it is in the summer) and everyone could move comfortably around and see all there was to see. In each room of the annexe there was a description of what the room was used for, and many of the rooms had quotes from Anne's Diary. At the end there were lots of video interviews talking about the experience, and also about the concentration camps. It was really intense to think about how difficult it would have been to live like that, sneaking around and not seeing or feeling fresh air for that long. Since I was feeling inspired after seeing the house, I bought the book down in the gift shop and am now working on reading it!

Later in the bar (Nelly's Irish Pub) I met a friendly Australian named Josh, who had just come from a week long ski trip in Austria. We were chatting for a bit, when Paul (Another aussie who was staying in my room too) came down. We decided to go check out the Amsterdam night scene, and meet up with two of Josh's friends from Tasmania. That night we saw all sorts of things (that dont need to be explicitly explained...) and had a great time.

The next day Paul and I decided we would hang out for the day and just go walk around Amsterdam. This proved to be completely dangerous because of this incredibly slick layer of frozen dew slush on the sidewalks. I took my fair share of falls that day, but had a good time seeing the tulip market, the canals, and all the skinny bridges. Later on our way back to the hostel we ran into Josh and two more Aussies and we went all together to the Heineken factory.

The Heineken factory was a great time! It was a well put together tourist attraction that explained the history, and the cultural importance of the Heineken Label, but it was also really really fun! There was a little "Bottle Yourself" ride that makes you feel like a bottle going through the process at the factory, and there were lots of opportunities to do some tasting and sampling of the beer!

After a full last day of the trip, we all went out for something to eat. I decided to pull out my list of recommendations from Vaughn, and try some Fries with Oorlog sauce. I went to the nearest fry stand and showed the friendly man what Vaughn had written down for me. Without hesitation he whipped it up for me. When he squeezed on the brown Oorlog sauce, I was a little unsure. He told me over and over again (in Dutch) that Oorlog is a dutch specialty and that I was going to love it. And I did! It was delicious, but definitely different.

Anyhow, after not knowing what to expect, and being homesick at the beginning, I had an excellent time in Amsterdam. It really was a different place...and I guess I admire that.