Today is technically our 3rd day in Amsterdam, so I have a lot to write about!
Sunday we flew out of Newark for an overnight flight into Holland, which was rough. The plane was old and most things were broken- the seats, the air, the movie (there wasn't one), etc. but we made it safely, and all without a minute of sleep. The lack of sleep was to be expected and we landed, after 6 hours in the air, over an hour early. Although we were above the clouds for most of the flight it was amazing to watch the sun set on one side of the Atlantic and watch it rise on the other side as we landed. As we landed at Schiphol Amsterdam (Amsterdam Airport) we were greeted with sights of the brightly colored patchwork of the countryside - the tulip farms!
Monday morning we were taken from the airport to our apartments - the Htel Amstelveen which fortunately are a 5 minute walk from the school and 20 minute tram ride from down town Amsterdam. Amstelveen (pronounced Amstel- vain) is a suburb of the actual city of Amsterdam so its a lot quieter and picturesque. There is a small grocery store and shopping center a block from the apartments and a meat market a little farther. The apartments are far better than I could have ever imagined. Emily and I are roommates in the 2 person, ultra-modern, open, loft-like space, which consists of two single beds, a small fully equipped kitchen, dining room table, bathroom, and living room space with a TV and sofa. Not to mention the view of the country side and Amstelveen- with a 12th floor room and an entire wall of windows you can only imagine! That afternoon we met with the head of the International school Dr. Green and his wife who took us out to dinner at a local restaurant. We tried "Bitterballen" a popular Dutch food, that is very hard to explain. Similar to a deep fried meatball, yet its inside is a gooey mixture of spiced dough and meat, and its taste can only be explained by comparing it to that of a pork chop. Dipped in yellow mustard its delicious! Another traditional food to try are the "Stroopwafels" which are a light desert or cookie- thin wafer-like cookies sandwiched with a gooey molasses in the middle, very sweet but very good.
Tuesday was our tour day which can be summed up as Murphy's law of anything that can go wrong will, is alive and well. That morning we walked the few blocks to the tram station which is the equivalent to the Boston T rather than the NYC Subways- Above ground with a few seats and a lot of standing room with a station in every town. We started off our ill-fated day with two girls in the group feeling very sick from the jerky stop and go of the tram so the 20 minute ride in felt very long. Yet once we reached Center Station in Amsterdam and got outside, our jaws dropped. In many ways Amsterdam is the perfect mix of a modern, busy city and an old, 17th century flash back. Buildings from the 1600s during the golden age of the city are tucked in with the modern architecture, trams, cars, and bikes. While in NYC you are wary of the cars and the amount of people, here if you can manage to not get hit by a tram, you have to worry about the cars speeding by, and if you withstand both of those dangers you must then keep an eye out for the bikes and mopeds that are always flying by. If you make the mistake of walking on the red pavement designated to the bikes- they will hit you and then you will get a ticket for being on the wrong walkway! In the city itself there has to be hundreds of thousands of bikes, I've never seen anything like it. However, before we even got to sight seeing my camera broke- Thank you Murphy! Luckily everyone else had cameras and took a lot of pictures for me. Not a very good start to the touring day though.
The only way to explore Amsterdam, it is said, is by way of the canals, which is exactly what we did. And believe me, the views of the city were amazing from the canals! After buying a day pass for the Hop-on, Hop-off canal bus we sat on the docks and sunned ourselves in the unusual, 70 degree weather. The only natural waterway in the city is the Amstel River- where the city gets its name- originally the city was named Amstel but once a dam was put in the river its name was changed to Amsteladam, later turing into Amsterdam. Get it?! A Dam on the Amstel = Amster-Dam!
Anyways, there are hundreds of canals throughout the city, most made during the 17th century when it was the biggest port in the world. They say the canals are 3 meters deep- one meter water, one meter mud, and one meter bikes. And I would believe it. For the most part we stayed on the boat- riding it all over the city, seeing attractions like the Anne Frank house, many museums, one of the last remaining windmills, the North Church- the 1st church to be build (in Amsterdam?, Europe?) specifically for protestant worship in 1622 (since before that and after the Reformation they just converted Catholic Churches), etc. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful city. We got off the boat to walk around the city and find some lunch. In our exploration we stumbled down a street made up of small shops, bars, and coffee shops. Sounds nice- however the shops were very vivid sex shops and coffee shops sell weed- not coffee. With the strong smell of pot wafting in the air, it was definitely an experience and we all got to see how far we could push our comfort levels. From there we discovered the red light district, where I got a shock. I, the sheltered American, was not expecting the girls to be in the windows, open for business, at 2 in the afternoon- I was very wrong. It was a... cultural learning experience and I can say with certainty that NOTHING in the US will be able to make me blush now. After that we took another boat tour around the canals to see the outer parts of the city and were very surprised when we got to the stop across the city from where we started and had expected to stop, and were told they were finished for the day. Apparently when they close for the night it doesn't matter where you are- thats were you get off. So we had to make our way back to Central Station with no idea where we were or how to get back. Yet it was an adventure and we got to see more of the city. By the time we got back to the station it was past 9pm and starting to get dark. (yes it only starts to get dark at 9:00pm). Murphy struck again when we were riding the tram home and it just stopped. After sitting there for a while, with people tapping on the windows and doors, but nothing opening- the conductor got out and spoke it Dutch. After looking at our dumbstruck faces he switched to English saying the tram was broken and the doors were not opening so we were all going to have to climb through his cabin and out that small door. We stood there listening to more Dutch until someone took pity on us and told us, in English, that we were going to have to go over to another station and hope for another tram on the same line we were on. Luckily one came soon after and we made it home safely, if not a little cold and exhausted.
Amsterdam is an amazing city and I cant wait to go back to visit the Museums, parks, and other attractions!
A view from the Canals
One of the many shops selling a variety of necessary items
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