Trifecta Netherlands

It took me a bit longer to put this travel report up, but the constant travel and adventures I was having finally caught up with me. The past week, it seems as though i have been doing something every night, which is fun, but can become a bit tiring. However, when I found out I was coming to England, I had no intentions of staying home every night and not taking advantage of the opportunity.

Friday, February 8^th, I took a half day off work (for some reason) and hopped on a plane for a short trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands. I’ll admit, it was a bit strange landing in a foreign country during the day, as opposed to the night. A train and tram ride and we were at our hostel. Unfortunately, despite rave reviews, the hostel let a bit to be desired. First night, the hostel had some bad luck when a water pipe burst sending water into the bar and eliminated any chance of a shower the next day. One complimentary beer made me quickly forget about it. Second, the fact that our room was on the ground floor and that the Amsterdam transit authorities were building new subway stations, lead to one thing: Rats (Actually Mice, as I was quickly told by the barkeep). Luckily, I was the only one to see one and it was only for a brief instance as it stopped sniffing around my bag and darted for it’s home. Many beers made me quickly forget about it.

Three things exist in the Netherlands: Pot, Sex and Cheese & Clogs. The city tends to have a nice blanket of smoke over it and you don’t have to walk far to smell it. I did find it strange though that all coffee shops closed at 11pm-ish. I must say that Amsterdam cops are hilarious. Unintentionally hilarious. The fact that I could ask them openly about drugs and sex made for a completely difference experience with cops. After finding the Red Light District, thanks to the aforementioned cop, I walked around the area to see the sights. To be honest, it’s pretty tame. Sure, girls are in the window and you know what’s going on once their window’s curtains are closed, but it’s a pretty surreal environment. All the girls are completely covered and the streets are packed with men and women of all ages taking it in. The next day, I walked through the district again to see how different it is between night and day. Sure enough, girls were still in windows, curtains were still drawn, but this time local dutch folk walked past the area, as if it was nothing. After arriving home, I saw a newstory talking about how the Dutch parliament wants to reduce the size of the district. So, maybe I caught a dying act.

On the Saturday, we rented bikes and quickly joined in a culture that lives to bike. It’s incredible that nearly every single street has a dedicated bike lane. Everyone rides bikes, whether its families running errands, or businessmen, dressed in suits, on their way to work. The funniest thing about the bikes is the manner in which they “honk” at one another. Every bike has a small bell on it. When a biker wants to pass someone or tell pedestrians to get the hell out of the way, they ring their bell. We saw one case, where this was taken to the extreme. Biker A gets slowed down by biker B and C. To get them to move out of his way, A rings his bell. Startled, B and C make enough room for A to pass. However, B and C don’t like the manner in which he rang his bell and quickly catch up to A. Do they start hollering at him and shoving tire irons in his bike spokes? Of course not, it’s Amsterdam. B and C start ringing their bells incessantly at A. That’ll show him.

On my last day in Amsterdam, we travelled to a small town called Zaanse Schans. The town is famous for its windmills and sure enough, they had 6 of them. They were pretty cool to see, but at the same time, they’re just windmills. It reminded me of seeing 6 water towers, but a little more easy on the eyes. However, at this place, I finally crossed off the third part of my list, Cheese & Clogs. I sampled a number of delicious cheeses, saw how a clog is made, tried on a few pairs and found the coolest thing ever. A giant freaking clog. I want one of these in my front yard, when I’m older. A solid 15 minutes was spent taking pictures on this piece of awesomeness.

Heading back into the city, I wandered the streets for the rest of the afternoon. The weather was gorgeous and everyone was sitting on the cafe patio’s. Canals are everywhere and are truly a sight to see. Walking through the alleyways, I finally found my way to spend the rest of the afternoon, a Dutch pub showing the Manchester United game. Brilliant.

Looking back on the trip, I had a pretty good time. I had a tough time with this one, as upon first glance, I didn’t have the best time. However, looking back, the good times were more subtle, but still there. Amsterdam is a beautiful city and the people are great. Current ordering of best to least best: Scotland, Czech Republic/Netherlands (Tie).