Our first train was at 9 this morning, and we had to catch two others — one in Antwerp and the other in Rotterdam — before ultimately arriving at Amsterdam’s Centraal Station. We had close connections each time, but it all went off without a hitch (other than being busted for sitting in first class while holding 2nd class tickets, but we were able to feign ignorance as we are just simple tourists). In our defense, the train cars aren’t labeled clearly and first and second class basically look the same. It’s not like there was a piano bar in there.
Anyway, the trouble began once we actually got to Amsterdam. Our hotel is in the southern part of the city, which would have been about a 1.5 mile walk through crowded streets while carrying our luggage. We opted to take a tram, but the maps at the station were useless, so we didn’t know which one to board. The ticket machines were also not working, so we had to take a number just to wait to buy a single fare ticket. After about 20 mins of mulling, we got our tickets and the man told us the best way to get to our hotel was to take a bus. Having an aversion to this mode of transportation, I still figured we’d chance the tram. Ultimately, we boarded basically the first tram we saw, not knowing where it was even headed, but since the water is to the north, and we had to go south, we felt it was a fairly safe bet.
So here we are at our hotel . . . finally. We spent the afternoon seeing the sights. Our first main stop was Anne Frank’s house. It wasn’t really what I expected. I personally felt that too much of the original building had been changed to accommodate the museum. It was, however, interesting to see the original bookcase that hid the stairwell to the annex where they hid. And I was surprised to see that they had her actual diary on display, so that was neat.
Amsterdam itself is a little different than I expected. I think perhaps because we just came from Bruges, Amsterdam doesn’t really have that quaint feel to it. There seems to be chaos everywhere with pedestrians, cars, and cyclists flooding all crosswalks and intersections. And who would have thought that nobody here wears wooden shoes?
Then we paid a visit to the Heineken Experience. It’s no longer an actual brewery, so they decided to make it an overpriced interactive tour. Nicole and I had our picture taken in their green screen section. Of course we are supposed to pay for a copy, but that just seemed silly, so I took a picture of the picture.
During the actual beer sampling, one of the workers was trying to explain how to best serve and drink Heineken. First he said to smell it. Nicole thought it smelled like a skunk. Then he explained how to drink it to better enjoy the taste. I thought it tasted like moldy water. So there you go. Heineken: the Miller Lite of Europe.
We had dinner at a pub near one of the canals. It was probably the best dinner we’ve had thus far. At least it had some variety. The only downside was that it was freezing out. As soon as the sun begins to go down, the temperature seems to plummet. I was shaking. The situation was further exacerbated by the fact that everyone in Europe seems to smoke, so I got caught in a cloud every few seconds. Other than that though, . . . it was a decent meal. Losing feeling in our bodies, and dripping from our noses, we elected to head back to the hotel to try and warm up and plot out our activities for tomorrow.
passports & pepto bismol 