I’m sitting on a Eurolines bus, reveling in the fact that at least for now, I have my own seat, which seems to gloriously stretch out from where I am seated at all directions, promising me, if not a great night’s sleep, at least a horizontal night’s sleep.
Amsterdam was great. Possibly, it has stolen the crown from Paris to become my favorite European city. Amsterdam seems to have a particular vibe about its many streets, canals, and bike baths. It is like the infamous coffee shops leak dopey smoke, intoxicating the people of the city into what I’m going to describe as “chillness”. All the Dutch people are chill. The Dutch restaurants are chill. Even walking down the main fare, called Rokin, as cars and the local buses whiz by (almost as fast as the bikers), the feeling in the air is still one of chill. The only thing not chill about Amsterdam is the Dutch language, which sounds more like throat gurgling and rasping than words.
So, here it is. Amsterdam’s top 7 (not 10—the city is too chill for 10 cool things to be seen and done)
7. Brown Bars and Heineken Beer
After dropping our bags at the hotel, we immediately ventured out to find some real, cannot-buy-it-on-a-Eurolines bus kind of food. Luckily, Greta, Karinne, Annie and I stumbled into a local brown bar where the walls were as “brown” as the smoke that made them that way.
After reading about the enticing, often fried, traditional Dutch fare in my guidebook, we immediately ordered homemade meatballs and pints of Heineken (after all, the brewery is located in Amsterdam). The meatballs were delicious, and the almost equivalent of an American hamburger, as they were served on freshly baked rolls with mustard and dill pickles. Locals surrounded us, chatting in their very strange foreign tongue. We had only been in the city for an hour, and I was loving it already.
6. The Scots
When I was booking the hotel in Amsterdam a few weeks ago, I was consternated to find that many of the cheaper hostels were already booked up, and I kept insisting that something must be happening in Amsterdam the weekend we planned to visit.
When we stepped off our bus, a sea of plaid kilts surrounded us, providing a strange welcome to the Dutch city.
“We didn’t hop over the pond on our bus, did we?” I asked as we stared open mouthed at the throngs of Scotsman, “I mean, it was a really, really long 20 hours.”
We didn’t make it to Scotland, but it sure felt like it. The throngs had come to Amsterdam for the Holland vs. Scotland soccer match, scheduled for 8:45 that night. We arrived around 1:00, but the celebration in preparation for the match had already begun, with lively drinking and singing in the streets.
After wandering through the seedy Red Light District that night, we found a bar with a big screen and settled in with our Heinekens for the match.
Holland 3. Scotland 0.
I was cheering for the home team, so I was happy with the results. The Scotsmen, were of course, very disappointed, and as we walked back to the hotel that night, we saw many with their heads and kilts dragging, bemoaning their disappointing loss to the team in bright orange.
5. Beware of Bikers
The “riiiiinnnnnnnnng-ring” of a bike bell in Amsterdam only means one thing: GET OUT OF MY WAY.
I learned this lesson the hard way after confusing a bike path with the pedestrian walkway and nearly being taken out.
If I had to gander, I would say that bikes outnumber cars in Amsterdam 3 to 1. With every street for cars, there is an accompanying path for bikes. I love that about Amsterdam, and if I could have done one more thing in the city, it would have been to rent a bike and explore the side streets of Amsterdam while hopefully scaring a few tourists.
4. “Dutch” fries
Although I’m fairly certain they are a specialty of Holland’s neighbor Belgium, the street fries of Amsterdam are to die for. You have to order them “special”, with mayonnaise, curry sauce, and onions. I know, it sounds gross, but it is oh-so-fatty in such a good way.
3. Van Gogh Museum
Just like the Picasso museum in Barcelona, I loved the Van Gogh museum because it is so much easier to appreciate art when you are witnessing an artist’s growth and changing style throughout the years of their life. This museum was so well done, and truly inspired me. I feel more connected to Van Gogh and his art than ever, as I have seen where he lived, worked, and walked in Arles, Paris, and Amsterdam.
I marveled at Starry Night again (I saw it once on a visit to the MoMa in NYC with Zach) on special exhibit as a part of the “colors of the night” display, documenting Van Gogh’s experimentation with the lights of the night.
I bought a matted print of one of Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings, on display at the museum, as sunflowers are my favorite flower, and Van Gogh’s sunflowers seem to say so much about happiness to me.
2. Rembrandt House
Our big tourist attraction for our last morning in Amsterdam, the Rembrandt House, was fantastic. Not only were we able to explore the famous artist’s bedroom, parlor, and studio, all furnished as they were when he lived there, we were also able to see a live demonstration of how Rembrandt created his famous prints.
A museum artist at the House gave Karinne, Annie, and I a private demonstration, walking us through the print making process. He demonstrated the three different techniques Rembrandt used to etch his impossibly intricate pictures into the copper plate coated with a wax-like mixture. He then filled the crevasses of the plate with thick, glutinous ink, which he then proceeded to scrape off tediously until only the quaint picture of a windmill remained. He then rolled the plate through the printing press, and removed a lovely, complete print. Rembrandt’s prints were so sought after during his lifetime, that it is rumored he had to pay the equivalent of $100 once in order to secure one of his own prints.
It was great. I wish we had had more time in Amsterdam to go to the museum that houses many of Rembrandt’s paintings, but two days isn’t nearly enough time to see all Amsterdam has to offer.
1. Anne Frank House
Museums in Amsterdam are so well done, and the Anne Frank House was no exception. It was as if I was walking through history as I explored the secret annex where Anne and her family hid for nearly 2 years, hoping to escape their inevitable fate in concentration camps simply for being Jews.
It was a powerful place. Seeing the actual journal that has reached so many millions of people was amazing. Although I know nothing of the suffering she endured, I do know she wanted to be a writer, sharing her stories with the world. In that way, I identify with her, and in that way, she gives me hope, as she is one of the most famous writers of history.
Oh, I loved it. Although another 21 hours remain before I am back home in Aix, I think I will survive just fine as I revel in my memories of Amsterdam.
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