Amsterdam

The past two days has felt like two weeks....my body aches, my eyes drift off into the realm of some dream state, and my mind is overwhelmed with everything I've seen. And even a couple hours ago seems like a week ago.......time is a funny thing.... almost hypnotized when the senses are used so much.......

We actually arrived in Antwerp sunday night but I had already gone to sleep and missed our docking. Traveling through the Kiel Canal saved us a LOT of time and we ended up coming into Belgium earlier than planned. Yesterday morning (oh my god....it really cannot be yesterday morning) I awoke pretty early to enjoy a hearty breakfast before my adventures...but first, we had our diplmatic briefing with representatives from the embassy in Brussels (foreign service YES!). Once the ship was cleared and I got my passport, a couple friends and I speedwalked to the central train station, hoping to jump on a train to Amsterdam as soon as possible. Even during the speedwalk, I couldn't help but admire the city of Antwerp. By far, my first impressions were the best of any port city we've been to. I couldn't wait to return to explore more! Luckily, the station wasn't difficult to find, basically just a straight away from the port. We didn't have much time to look around the station...but it has a gorgeous interior..I'm planning on taking many pictures later. Buying a ticket to Amsterdam took less than five minutes (including waiting in line) and was a breeze. One way was about 19 euros (for under 26). We caught the 10am train...quite a feat in our case...The train ride was pleasant enough, minus a man who was across from me....at times making me feel rather uncomfortable....incessant, sinister type staring...oh well, he got off before Amsterdam so no harm done. The train took roughly two hours....so we arrived just for lunch time! After exchanging cash and kroners and such into euros, we stepped out of the train station very enthusiastically.

I had ALWAYS wanted to go to Amsterdam. If someone asked me to choose between Paris and Amsterdam, I would have chosen the latter. In a heartbeat. I think I was always drawn to the area because of my middle school obsession with Anne Frank, or maybe it was the romance of the canals and architecture....who knows....I was just very, very excited to be there. Almost immediately we were in the red light district, or on the outskirts of it at least. Our first impressions were of lots of sex shops, which wasn't too surprising.

Soon we were in the better parts of Amsterdam....with lots of fashionable stores, cafes, (NOT coffee shops), cute streets, etc. We were starving and had no trouble deciding on Cafe Luna, a really cute place on Kalverstraat. I got a cheese sandwich with lettuce, egg, and cucumber on a baguette as well as a Brussels waffle with chocolate (wanted to have that for comparing purposes!). All delicious. When we were finished we continued walking along, now in the hopes of finding the hotel we booked, on Marnixstraat. When we found it, we were told they weren't able to accomodate us, but had set up our stay with another hotel down the road. "Down the road" turned out to be a little farther, past where Marnixstraat turns into Weteringsch. We had some difficulty finding the new hotel at first, but after twenty minutes of searching and asking Dutch locals, we found Hotel Sphinx.

When we got inside, we were told our room wouldn't be ready until an hour later, so we decided to hit up the Van Gogh museum (gogh is actually pronounced like hhawwh...ha, perhaps thats not the correct phonetic way....in any case, we say it WRONG). The museum not only had a rather large collection of his works but also many contemporary pieces as well. I was really happy to see some of my favorite pieces, pieces that I hang on my wall and see every day.....lovely to see them in person! My plan has been to buy an art print from every country I go to as my main souvenir (who really likes those spoons, anyway?) so for the rest of the trip I carried around my poster in this elongated triangular shape holder...couldve been used as a weapon, I swear. We had spent about 3 hours walking and from and in the museum itself, so we headed back to Sphinx to check in.

Everything was set up when we got there and was generally satisfied with our room. We were just happy to have three beds. But, what we would come to discover later on that night, was that the walls were extremely thin. And lucky for us, about four hooligans from England were staying next door and made quite a ruckus. We got VERY little sleep. But before we went to sleep, we decided to head towards the Anne Frank house, thinking the crowds would be almost non existant closer to 9pm. They weren't. There was no way we could get in and see it in enough time before the place closed. So instead, we went out to get dinner and found a cheap vegetarian place called Maoz, where we all got falafels. After, we went to a chocolate shop where we either indulged in ice cream, waffles, or just a drink (hot chocolate for me).

Nearby was Leidseplein, a popular square filled with restuarants and the like. We stopped for about fifteen minutes to watch some break dancers put on a show, hopefully I'll be able to upload the videos I took. We were all pretty whipped by then and decided to have an early night since it was decided we would wake up pretty early the next day. Getting up wasn't that difficult since I was pretty much awake the entire night (thanks to our considerate neighbors). When we checked out, I was almost running to the Anne Frank house. I don't know, I think it's just me but perhaps its an American trait...I just had this image of massive crowds forming even an hour before the place opened....I was prepared to be the 50th person in line even at like 830.....so I booked it...for real. I was getting some true exercise there...carrying my bags around, the Van Gogh poster holder of death....I don't know, I was oddly energized. And when I got to Prinsengracht 263 (well, really like 265 because they bought like the all the buildings around the main building) there was only ONE person in line. Granted, it was about 8am and the museum was set to open in at least forty five minutes. But I was proud of this speed walking accomplishment...it definitely paid off. For a little bit, I put my stuff down with my friends and walked around the area in search for some caffeine (even though I really didn't need any) and instead passed by the Tulip museum, which I had heard about, but it didn't seem too impressing. After failing at my mission, I returned to the long lines I had anticipated.

But we were second! And we easily got in when it opened and I loved every moment of it. It had been a dream to be in this place....so much so that I tread lightly on the floors, as if they were sacred. When I was in middle school, I truly became obsessed with The Diary of Anne Frank....I would dream that I too was hiding as a Jew in the Holocaust. To me, this was one of the most important landmarks in Europe. And the speed walking truly paid off...there wasn't really anyone ahead of me.....I spent several minutes ON MY OWN in the rooms.......I was in Anne's room by myself for awhile, ......it was really an intense, emotional experience....and yet, very eerie at the same time. Yeah, totally eerie. I imagine that effect would have been curtailed a bit had there been more tourists around me........in any case, I was really lucky.

We stayed in the museum for about a little more than an hour and then hit a cafe near by for some breakfast. We all got dutch pancakes which were simply put, amazing. I stayed there for awhile because it was a wi fi spot and I had my laptop......when I was done, we went to see Westerkerk, a church almost right next to the Anne Frank museum. I remember reading how the bells and the church in general were a great comfort to Anne, but I had also read in one of my guidebooks that climbing the tower was a must do in Amsterdam. Westerkerk, which was built in the 17th century, has the tallest tower in the city, about 280 feet....which we climbed on extremely tight and narrow staircases....ah it was an experience, that's for sure! Less than ten people can be taken up at at time its so intense. If one is afraid of heights or is claustrophobic, this is not for you. Older people and larger people would have some difficulty as well. It was great though, very exciting! It took us at least ten minutes to get to the top...I thought the climbing would never end, I don't know how the tour guides go up and down so often. But the views from the tower overlooking the city are spectacular!!! It was perhaps the best moment I had in Amsterdam (besides being alone in the secret annex). If you are heading to Amsterdam, you HAVE TO DO THIS! It was fantastic....great panoramic views of the city, the canals, everything. We stayed up there for quite a bit before heading back down, which was a challenge in itself. I also learned that Rembrant and his son Titus were buried here in this church? Pretty cool........

We did a lot of walking around and observing afterwards, including passing Koninklijk Paleis, a royal palace. Supposedly it was originally meant to be Europe's largest town hall but when Napoleon came in 1808 and made his brother king of Holland, it turned into a palace. We also went through Rosse Buurt, or the Red Light District. It was certainly interesting...lots of sex shops, places to see sex shows, etc...and then in the windows of many buildings were prositutes standing, trying to get passerbys to come in....

Alright, so that is part 1 of Amsterdam. I'm so tired, I have to go to sleep...hopefully will write tommorrow.