Day 32 - Funny story...
Flew from Athens to Amsterdam this morning on the Greek equivalent of Qantas, even got a meal! Hostel is in a cool cobbled area filled with restaurants and coffee shops. Only problem was the shower - literally a closet with no window or place to put ur clothes but on the wet floor and the whole thing was covered floor to ceiling in bright multicoloured tiles. Needless to say it would not be a good idea to go in there if you're claustrophobic or high! Weather in Amsterdam is poles apart from Greece - from 39C on the beach to a sprinkle of rain in the Dutch capital. Tonight I treated myself to pancakes for dinner (when in Holland!) and was randomly joined by a Brazillian guy Daniel, who was also eating alone. Later we went to an English comedy show by the Boom Chigaco comapny (Mykle, Phil, Sam - thanks for the recommendation, I found it!!!) where I was turned into an omnipotent Indian IT guru on stage! Long story short I was taken on stage, asked some funny questions and my answers were later used in a Bollywood finale to the show in which an image of my head floated on a screen behind! So for the record I'm not famous in Amsterdam!
Day 33 - Exercising my democratic right ... and my legs
WHAT a mission - today I trecked to The Hague to vote. Being Friday it was my last chance. It took me an hour to train to The Hague from Adam, 2 hours to find the embassy on foot (during which I stopped to ask a receptionist for directions at a building called PsychQ which I'm sure was a mental facility!) and then about half an hour to actually do the deed. The poor Dutch bloke at the embassy's security desk looked ready to shoot someone after two weeks of bolshy Australians pouring through his door and the Aussie guy behind the counter looked about to keel over from exhaustion. I myself nearly cried when I saw the bloody Australian flag out the front after traipsing around for so long! Definitely glad I made the effort though, given the tight contest at the moment... :S
Day 34 - Idiot tourist on the loose ... in the Red Light district
Today was not my finest travel moment ... I managed to walk absent mindedly in a number of bike lanes and almost got hit, couldn't figure out how to use my tram card and was made a fool of by the conductor who gave me directions over the microphone and THEN got yelled at by a Dutch market lady ... in Dutch! I had no idea what she was saying but everyone around me did. This amounted to a solid bout of homesickness and feeling sorry for myself which was cured by taking a picnic lunch to the Vondelpark (like a botanic gardens but cooler and more famous) and reading a book in English for a bit! Later that night I joined a walking tour of the Red Light District with some blokes from my hostel room. Was very ... informative ... really! the guide pointed out all sorts of cool, quirky things and we learned a lot about how the girls in the windows rent the space, what they charge, what's legal and not etc. At the end there was the option to go to a sex show at the oldest sex theatre in Amsterdam, the Casa Rosso and ... (parents - perhaps stop reading here!!!) I'm not going to lie, I went (when in Amsterdam...?). I won't "bore" you with the details but let's just say it was eye opening. Funny in some parts, surprisingly tasteful (and distasteful in equal measure) in others and even quite boring at times. An experience that had to be had though I guess... tick.
Day 35 - Pancakes and "coffee"
Started the morning at a Lonely Planet-recommended pancake place (helpfully called Pancakes!) and it did NOT disappoint. Had poffertjes (the little pancakes they sell at the Royal Show) and even know how to pronounce the name now! They even gave me a little clog keyring with my change. Later I toured the Heineken brewery but was a bit disappointed to find the guide-yourself-tour was really just a big fat add for Heineken. At least you get a couple of free beers though!
Now, on my last night in Amsterdam there's one thing you may be thinking I hadn't ticked off the list yet ... so yes, our little hostel room group (3 german teenage boys, 2 italian girls and a slightly older French-Canadian guy) all wandered off to find a coffee shop. In addition to the obvious, I did in fact did order a coffee (well hot chocolate). Inside it was expectedly smokey but there was no cheesey Bob Marley music, just a really cool vibe. I still find it bizarre to see people publicly ordering a joint for $6 Australian and wandering around lighting up! Can't say it was exactly a mindblowing experience though ... after ticking that one off the list I reckon I'll just stick to being "high on life".
Observations: Fries with mayonnaise are awesome. So are fresh, warm Stroopwaffels - crispy waffle biscuit sandwiches with chewy caramel sauce in the middle - VERY popular here. Krokettes from vending machines on the street however are not so great (sorry to disagree Matty). The Dutch also seem obssessed with spare ribs. And since hello in Dutch is Hoi, I'm wondering if this is where the saying "Give us a hoi" comes from?
No comments:
Post a Comment