Amsterdam

On Tuesday, I got back on the Thalys from Brussels to Amsterdam. I met Theresa, my old housemate, and her boyfriend, Marshall, outside the train station. We took a tram to Leidseplein and checked into Hotel Parkzicht - not to be confused with another hotel by the same name 200 km away! A common enough mistake. The triple was really nice, with high ceilings and lots of windows.

We spent our time walking around a lot, stopping in coffeeshops (where I was once carded, "Are you 18?"), and a couple museums. The Anne Frank House was incredibly moving - a very well put together historic site, with interactive exhibits at the end. There was a really interesting video section with voting buttons for surveys - with results shown immediately for who was in the room and all previous responders - sometimes our breakdown would match exactly to the broader audience - and every so often every one in the room would agree - issues were on things like religious rights, freedom of expression, privacy rights, etc. The other museum we visited was the Van Gogh Museum - pronounced Van Hock locally. Van Gogh has been a favorite since I was introduced to his work in elementary school, where I did an independent study on him for one semester. Unfortunately part of the museum was under renovation.

Another day we rented bikes, took the free ferry just north of Amsterdam and spent a few hours exploring the idyllic towns. This was probably my favorite part of the trip - we were surrounded by sheep and cows, ducks and other birds - some even dive bombing in front of us or chasing each other - with lots of babies everywhere. The bike paths were well marked with locations and distances. We hardly crossed paths with any other cyclists. We used the bikes the next morning (24 hour rental) to bike around Amsterdam proper as well - exploring a couple nearby parks (Vondel and Rembrandt) and a fun climbing web.


We spent another day going to Keukenhof - which unfortunately suffered from the recent freak weather patterns. I think the cold rainy spell after the hot, dry month of April killed off most of the outdoor flower gardens. What remained were just stems - the gardens were filled with potted plants instead. I enjoyed the indoor exhibitions - especially the fragrance of so many fresh flowers. There was also a fun maze in the middle as well as a fun swinging contraption (that I would have gone on if it didn't mean kicking off a bunch of 7 year olds - it was enough to watch and wonder if it could have handled adult weight). We tried making the most of the 14 euro train tickets plus the 18 in bus and entrance fees.




Amsterdam is another city set among canals - lots of drawbridges and boats everywhere. It's filled with many more tourists than Bruges, but being a bigger city, seemed to balance out with at least as many locals. I realized I could have done without the walk through the red light district, where prostitutes entice their customers through big windows facing the street. This was just next to the Chinatown area which seemed quite pathetic - it made me realize how much I really miss good Chinese food and shops.

We spent our last two nights trying out couchsurfing, staying with a local artist. Unfortunately, she was quite busy and didn't have a lot of time to spend with us outside of a dinner. However, she was incredibly gracious in letting us use her apartment freely - and supplied us with bedding, pillows, blankets and internet, as well as advice on places to go.

Tips

• Keep your tickets for Thalys - the outbound trip ticket is technically required for your return ticket to be fully valid. I didn't realize this until I missed my train and the woman who sold me a new ticket scolded me for throwing the other half of my ticket away.
• Try to set up couchsurfing for the beginning of your trip instead of the end.
• Visit the Anne Frank House in the evening to avoid the line and crowds.