Sorry for the delay in blogging, but I was in Amsterdam this last week with my friend Courtney.
I had always wanted to go to Amsterdam because it used to be the traditional NWA portal into Europe, and I often wished I could get out at Schipol and go see the city when flights were delayed. Courtney and I took the train this time, and it is only about a 4 hour trip, with a transfer in Cologne, to the capital of the Netherlands.
The Dutch are an amazingly friendly and happy people, and most stereotypes about them prove pleasantly true: They are prodigious bike riders. They are tall, blond, and most embody the quality of being "ruddy-cheeked." They like cheese and beer. They speak better English than the characters on The Hills.
In all, they were friendly hosts, and far from feeling like I was in some moral danger zone, I felt like I was in Europe's most water-drenched, un-bombed, gem of a city.
It rained most our trip, but, aside from an obligatory canal boat ride, most Amsterdam activities can be done in doors. The Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank House were amazing. The entrance line at the Frank house wraps around the block consistently, so any visitor has to wait an hour minimum-- but it's worth it. The building is haunting but subtle, and really moving. We especially enjoyed the excited preteens (many Amis) roaming the premises with a keen interest, surely developed after a recent reading of The Diary of a Young Girl. The Van Gogh museum meets expectations, and I learned that Vincent shot himself in the chest! What? I always thought he died of consumption/syphilis! Did other people know this?
We wanted to go on the Heineken brewery tour, but they were renovating, so instead we capitalized on a dry two hour block to board the "Lover's" boat tour. Oddly named, but fun. I am a sucker for any and all boat tours, especially when they show me weird things, like these hooks that Amsterdaminan row houses have on the top window to hoist furniture into the steep buildings. I love those tidbits.
Besides sight-seeing, Courtney and I enjoyed the food and drink of the city. Amsterdam is a pancake city, and we had both sweet and savory for non-breakfast meals. We also had little pancakes coated in a magic butter and sugar sauce. They are called Poffertijes, and they are probably laced with heroin.
And finally: We discovered the best bar on earth. Seriously, the bartenders tell you exactly what to drink, they only carry Belgium and Dutch beers on tap (over 200 types in bottle) and they serve your drinks with Dutch cheese. I can't even begin to share how cool this place is, but here is the website.
http://www.cafegollem.nl/
4 comments:
good to see you got to enjoy and appreciate plenty of my home town despite the rain, Stephanie!
and yes, Gollem is indeed one of the nicest/cutest/best in town!
cheers, Marc
*An Amsterdam native promoting stuff that he usually takes for granted*
I am going to NWA.com immediately to book my ticket to AMS. I've never had an interest to go but now I don't think I'll be complete unless I visit. Is it doable w/ two small children????
I spent a happy two hours in the Amsterdam airport once. All I remember is John Grisham paperbacks (in English) were the equivalent of $14 and there were more tulip- and clog-related items in the gift shops than I ever knew existed. At all. Anywhere.
yeah so more about van gogh... not only did he shoot himself in the chest, he lived for days before dying. also, there is a new theory that van gogh did not actually cut his ear off not because he was going insane due to the lead in his paint (that he ate). apparently, when he gave his ear to a woman he admired in a box (and said, "for you, in remembrance of me"), it was because he had been suffering from this rare disease which causes phantom buzzing in your ear, and you feel great pain from it. many believe that he cut off his ear to relieve the pain. today, there is still no remedy for the disease, and it may have had more to do with his mental illness than his oil set! lastly, i think he started painting when he was 30, and died when he was 38.... how crazy is it that he made the amount of work he did? and never sold a piece, until theo did....
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