Amsterdam!!!

Hello all. I apologize for going off the grid recently. The minute we got back from Amsterdam I had to get ready for classes as uni started back up that Monday. I also had four scholarships to apply for, at the same time, and a bunch of other not fun things going on that made it so I was either too busy or too tired to write. Now I am back and very behind on posting, so I thought I would update you from where we left off leaving Munich. This may get lengthy (as you know I do), but I will do my best to convey my thoughts as succinctly as possible. I don't know why I even warn you anymore. We all know I'm just going to write to my little heart's content. Guess I'm just trying to be polite. :D

That night on the train from Munich to Amsterdam was better than our last train ride. We were in the exact same style of compartment, but this time we had the bottom bunks. This gave us a whopping 5cm more space! I'm just kidding, I have no idea what the difference is between the bottom and upper two bunk sizes, but there is a difference. This allowed Cyrus to sleep better, since the last bed was too short for him and he couldn't get a proper sleep. They also came by and served us coffee in the morning, so I was happy. Finally, we were at my last destination. Cyrus still had London to look forward to. The minute we stepped out of the station, and after I got over the fact that the people around us were no longer speaking ANY language we recognized, I was suddenly hit with a potent first impression. (And the next two... the city isn't that big, you kinda see it all at once).

First several impressions of Amsterdam: The unmistakable smell of weed EVERYWHERE. I don't know what I was expecting. After all this was Amsterdam. I guess my imagination never incorporated smells into my expectations. It didn't help that, as I would later find, the station was directly next to the Red Light District (RLD). The soft breeze from the coast was just enough to surround us in the lingering smog of last night's festivities, but not enough to blow it away yet.

The very next thing I noticed was how undeniably beautiful Amsterdam was. Coming in by train we also got to see a lot of the country side. Stereotypical Dutch houses spotted the green fields, only changing in proximity to one another as we got closer to the city. By the time we were at the heart they were so smooshed up to each other that I was sure a conversation could be heard between the walls of each separate house. That is not to say, however, that there was no green space.

My last first impression was of how “green” the city was (literally and figuratively... and ironically...). There were massive parks and plots of land devoted to grass. The one closest to our hostel even slopped upwards to make the roof of the entrance to one of the supermarkets (which was underground to conserve the green area). It was almost as if each back yard had been redistributed into several huge ones scattered throughout the city. Now, on a more literal sense of “green”, hardly anyone drove cars. There were cars, but most of the people relied on bicycles or trams or just plain walking (once again, not a big city). By far and large, bikes dominated this area, and you better not get in their way. They had their own (large) bike lanes with the traffic that almost melded into the side walk, and God help you if you happen to cross the solid white line dividing the two. As for the ironic sense of “green”... well, I'll get to the more deviant side of this cultural mecca later. (Fun fact: Weed is not actually legal in Amsterdam... it's just extremely tolerated- so much so that cops look the other way).

 Needless to say, Cyrus and I were quite out of our elements. Germany had been, mostly, the same wherever we went. Once we figured out one area and how to get around, we did pretty well with the others. It helped that, at least to some degree, we knew important phrases to translate signs and could speak enough to fill language gaps. Now, in the heart of Holland, we weren't as prepared. While some things were in English and everyone (supposedly) spoke it, interacting and figuring out the ropes was still challenging. Just getting to the hostel was an adventure as we knew which tram to take, but had no idea how tickets worked. We ended up jumping on the next tram headed in the right direction with no ticket hoping that the transport police were as terrible at their jobs here as they were in Germany. Soon, we learned where most things were and decided that walking everywhere was the best option (as soon as we got rid of our bags of course). Our hostel was pretty nice too. It was smaller than the previous ones which I think makes the world of a difference. The manager man was also very welcoming and on top of his job making sure the kitchen was clean and the people were being respectful. Here is where we also learned a very unexpected fact about Amsterdam...

Next impression of Amsterdam: The stairs are VERY steep. It's almost like climbing a ladder. Every house or shop we went into where we had to climb up stairs had the same narrow staircase and virtually cliff-like incline. The hostel was no different. It was almost as though the founders of Amsterdam realized they didn't have much space, so they stacked everything on top of each other in as tight an area they could manage- hence climbing Everest to get to the bathroom. 

 

Anyways, Cyrus and I, after a long train ride filled with gummy bears, were feeling the need for a run again. We settled into our bunks and turned around and went out for a morning run through a park close to the hostel. It was very beautiful and we were both impressed with how genuinely happy everyone seemed. There were plenty of runners and parents with children or people with dogs frolicking about this expansive park. We received smiles and nods as we passed, a gesture unknown to the rest of Europe. We ran for almost an hour before going back and resting. The rest of the first day was full of figuring out the local grocery store and where things were. The next day was also not extremely eventful as Cyrus and I were really feeling the draining power of traveling so much at this point. However, I was determined to see things and make the most of our time here. So, we went to the Van Gogh Museum (conveniently located a block away from the hostel). I have always appreciated Van Gogh and have recently become more interested in his work. Therefore, I loved the museum and seeing works of beautiful color that I had never seen before by the genius painter. Cyrus, while appreciating the culture of the outing, was not impressed by the painter, but it's ok... we can't all be right. ;D 

 

Later that night we decided to go out into Amsterdam and walk along the canals where a Festival of Lights was going on. Basically, every hundred meters or so along a few of the canals there was a sculpture by some obscure artist lit up with dramatic colors against the night's background. The two or so that we saw were beautiful... However, we got a bit distracted. As I said, this hub of culture and history becomes more eccentric after dark. Furthermore, it doesn't help that the RLD is actually the majority of the city center, lit with bright red Christmas lights strung across the streets. We checked out some less-than-reputable looking alley ways and a few atypical stores as we further explored the city. Not to say that it was all R rated (or XXX), we also found the most glorious ice cream shop in the world... nestled between a condom shop and dispensary (definitely a different set of social norms rulled here). But the ice cream was amazing! And they sold gluten free cake! We went back a few nights later. :D As we were making our way around we also stumbled upon a Christmas market that was still (surprisingly) up and running. Cyrus tried some Belgian waffles while I had some glühwein. However, to further illustrate the sharp disparity between “normal” and “Amsterdam” I will tell you that along the same strip we also found a sex museum... and curiosity got the better of us. It was fascinating to say the least! (Sorry for your heart-attack grandma, but when in Amsterdam... :D). That night we realized just how complex this place was and all there was to see and do. However, we were tired from a long day (and slightly buzzed from all the second-hand) and decided that we would have come back to the RLD another night in order to see it all.

Our third day in and we only had one other day-time thing we really wanted to do and that was see the Anne Frank house. On top of that, we were both signed up to do Crossfit that evening, leaving plenty of the day to try out a (REALLY good) gluten free bagel place and explore all of the little shops the city had to offer. One of our favorite stores was called something like “Old Man Amsterdam” full of outdoor-type gear, hunting knives and (of course) a wall of drug paraphernalia. There was even a vending machine stocked with a variety of cannabis treats. We were quite entertained by all of this.

 

On a different note, the Anne Frank house was a really cool experience for me. Growing up I read Anne Frank's diary at least twice and the straight play in class. Not to mention the bagillion other WWII and Holocaust-based books I seemed to never run out of (I was really into WWII history). I had always wondered what the annex actually looked like and what it would be like to live there. I never thought I'd actually get to go inside that very house. Being able to see the place where she lived for that time, the moving book shelf, the tiny rooms, posters Anne herself had glued to the walls of her room, the attic she was in love with, was all so surreal. There were quotes from the book painted on some of the walls in the part of the house that had been converted into a museum and excerpts from her diary hung up on some of the walls in the upstairs annex. I remembered those words as I walked through the haunting rooms and the connection was almost enough to make me cry. What strong people. 

That night we went to Crossfit Amsterdam. It was the best one of our trip, even counting London, but (I'm told) no where near the intensity of St. Petersburg. We also went the next night and bought shirts. I didn't buy many souvenirs from our adventures, but I feel like this Crossfit shirt is my favorite item! The next day, our last day, was uneventful as we got lost in the city again (for such a small city, it's VERY easy to get inexorably lost) before going back to the ice cream shop from day two and then Crossfit. That night, however, we had decided we would give RDL one more visit, particularly to see “the girls.” 

 

For those of you who don't know, prostitution is not only legal in Amsterdam, but flaunted. Besides all of the sex shops and Moulin Rouge dance shows, there is a large part of the RLD where the girls are literally on display, behind glass doors to their rooms, bathed in red light. Dressed in the least amount of fabric manageable, they stand there, swaying, tapping on the glass, trying to get guys and girls alike to come in and hire them. It is a fantastical sight. Walking down these alleys and canals surrounded by life-sized barbie dolls of all shapes, sizes, races, ages on display whispering a promise of pleasure. I didn't know what to think. Part of me found the whole demonstration entirely fascinating (yup, the nerd at heart), while another part of me was disgusted, and yet another part curious. I hated how dehumanized the girls seemed, especially by how some of the guys were treating them, laughing or rating them on some arbitrary scale, only looking at them as glorified sex toys- but, I mean, isn't that what they signed up for? The whole thing was overwhelming, but too captivating to ignore. An experience I'm not soon to forget. 

 

The next morning, we checked out of our hostel and prepared for our first day-time train ride on the Eurostar “chunnel” to London. That is all of Amsterdam for you though. I will leave the very last ten days of our time together in London for yet another blog (as it has taken me three days between work to write this one). Only one more installment of the winter adventure before you are all caught up (nothing too exciting has happened since Cyrus left and classes started back). Hope my people in Iowa aren't freezing too badly under the winter apocalypse as I enjoy a comfortable 45ish degrees F here. Not to rub it in or anything... :D Till next time!