I think I will cover my weekend in Amsterdam in a few posts. They will primarily be chronological, but no promises.
Best part of my trip? It definitely was NOT getting up at 4am to catch a 7:45am flight. It didn't occur to me until I was standing in the line for security that they do things differently here. I should have expected this. They do not require travellers to remove their shoes before going through the metal detectors, but it is IMPERATIVE that all your liquids are out and in a clear plastic bag ... because that plastic bag will change the size of your liquids.* One man looked at the tiny bags provided for toiletries, and said "if I hold my bottle next to the bag, do you think they'll let me through?" Fortunately, I passed through with no problem, only to face another oddity. First, you should know that departure flight boards in European airports are listed by time of departure, and NOT by city. Second, at London Gatwick Airport, they don't assign gate numbers for your flight until 20 minutes before boarding .... and .... AND .... it is a 10 minute (brisk) walk to the gates, located at the end of the earth. There is a big cafe/shopping area in the airport where everyone hangs out until the gates are posted, and the second that they are posted, there is a MAD dash ... it's not like we have assigned seats on the plane or anything!
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| convenient plane coat hook! |
I've never flown British Airways before, but, man, what an experience. I don't know how common this is, but I've never seen it before: each seat on the plane had a little coat hook on it! Also, the ends of the arm rests are flat so that you can put your drink there if you do not want to use the tray table.
That wasn't even the best part: on British Airways, you get complementary drink and food .... like actual food. In addition to my 8am coffee, I got a package with a cup of OJ, a croissant with cheese, and a cup of yogurt and granola! Part of the Crack-of-Dawn Special?
The flight from London to Amsterdam is only 40 minutes (I spent more time getting to the airport). Contrary to what some British girls on my flight thought, Amsterdam is, in fact, the capital of Holland and the Netherlands, and not in Germany. The national language is Dutch, a strange-sounding version of German. I was surprised to discover how little English there was there. Sure, all the tourist spots have plenty of alternative languages (including English), but good luck with public transportation! I quickly intuited that straat is street, gracht is canal, vertrekken is to depart, and bestemmen is used to indicate which stop your ride is destined to reach. And, always remember to say dank u.
The first thing I saw upon exiting Schiphol Airport was that famous "I amsterdam" sign. I am not sure exactly when the signs were made (there are 2: one is permanently in front of city hall, and the other travels around the city either as an entire sign or by individual letters), but they were used as a marketing tool to promote tourism. People liked them so much that the city left them on display. The one in front of city hall was super crowded when we passed it on our bike tour.
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| Amsterdam Schiphol Airport |
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| Amsterdam City Hall and Museum |
When I was packing, the weather report called for a weekend of rain in Amsterdam, which I was immediately bummed about. Nevertheless I, and the six other girls in my travel group, was determined to have a good time. We lucked out because it did not rain one drop during the 2 or so hours of the bike tour, which took us around the city to some famous and notable spots.
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| Van Gogh Museum (right) |
City Hall / the Amsterdam Museum is located in the museum district, and is opposite the vastly popular Van Gogh museum. To refresh your memory, Van Gogh is the painter who cut off his own ear, had severe mental problems, and eventually took his own life in an insane asylum. Some people say that one of the prostitutes he frequented cut off his ear. The other theory, which has recently emerged, is that he and his male lover (gasp!!) got into a fight that escalated to a sword fight, and the lover accidentally sliced Van Gogh's ear clean off. Regardless, his work is pretty great and iconic. You know the yellow painting with the vase of sunflowers? Yeah, that's his. Unfortunately, we did not have time to visit the Van Gogh Museum, which is fine because the line to get into the building (let alone to buy tickets) was miles long. [Pictured] The other building you see at the far side of the green is a concert hall. The parks in this area are so beautiful!
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| park gazebo |
I apologize for the poor quality of this park/gazebo picture - I took it as I passed on a moving bike.
When I say "long lines," you may picture standing in line at Disney or at the midnight premiere of Harry Potter, but you have never seen a line like the one at the Anne Frank House.** According to my graduate assistant back in London, you would be completely mental to visit Amsterdam without a visit to the Frank House. She would be right, but you better buy your tickets in advance (at least 2 weeks early) or be prepared to stand in the LONGEST LINE YOU WILL EVER SEE! In all my wisdom, I did not buy a ticket prior to my arrival in Amsterdam, but it makes for a better story. I was the first of my BU friends to arrive in Amsterdam, so I had plenty of time to kill. Fortunately for me, when I got there around 1pm on Friday afternoon, the line was merely down the block. When I passed the area again on Sunday, the line wrapped around TWO blocks ... haha ... I wish I was kidding. The silver lining here, other than finally making it into the house, was that I made 3 new Canadian friends from Ottawa! And, we only ended up waiting for 90 or so minutes.
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| Anne Frank House |
The Anne Frank House (the shortest building pictured and the adjoined 6-window wide warehouse) is a really cool place. Like most of the buildings along canals, it is narrow and very tall. The staircases are narrow and twisty - some are really closer to ladders than proper stairs - with shallow steps (hardly big enough for the front of your foot!). In order to preserve the inside of the house, photography was not allowed, so I will try my best to tell you about what I saw. The front of the house was where Otto Frank ran his business and has normal-sized rooms. The annex in the back of the house has smaller, more irregularly shaped rooms. Unfortunately, all the original furniture was moved out of the house at the end of the war, and the museum decided not to replace it. So, most of the rooms in the house are bare. The only original piece is the bookcase (the original books, too!) that concealed the secret entrance to the annex. Some of Anne's diaries were on display, as well as some of the short stories she wrote. It felt surreal to be in a place I've heard and read about so many times - it was really the only thing I knew about Amsterdam prior to this weekend.
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| Protestant Church |
Right next to the Anne Frank House (right of the above picture) is the Amsterdam Protestant Church, which served as a useful landmark as we navigated ourselves through the twisty chaos of Amsterdam streets and alleyways. It's quite beautiful! Also, there is a small statue of Anne Frank on one side of the church.
Further down the Prinsengracht (the Prince's Canal) are the Tulip Museum and the Cheese Museum. The latter tasted as good as the former smelled! I've never seen so many different varieties of cheese. My favorites included the popular 4-year matured Gouda and a smoked cheese that my friends assured me tasted like beef jerky. There was truffle-flavored cheese, and even pesto cheeses - these tasted like cheesy pesto pasta .... without the pasta! It was hard to leave that place.
There is so much more Amsterdam to show and tell, so stay tuned for the upcoming posts (definitely in the next day or so)! Thanks for reading!
*The security officers at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv practically get into a fit of giggles when you ask them about liquids ... they cannot understand why we worry about such trivial things.
** Though if you've ever sat in traffic on the 5 or the 10 or the 405 in LA, you have a better idea than most!
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