Oh Amsterdam!

Oh Amsterdam! Is all the hype worth it?

Everyone goes to Amsterdam. Anyone you ask who has visited Europe (especially if they're under the age of 25), has probably been to Amsterdam. It's the hub of most vices that are illegal everywhere else but here. No wonder everyone comes here.

Amsterdam however, has way more to offer than just good cheap weed and a quickie for your sex-deprived friend. It offers a great vibe, loads of diversity and a rich cultural history, and is by far one of my favorite cities in Europe!

The structure of the city alone is something to admire, its numerous canals and massive biking culture is unique to most European cities. I will have to say though, with all the buildings tightly structured together and all painted with a similar brown shade, doesn't do much for people with a no-sense-of-direction handicap, like myself. In short I spent a lot of time find "new ways" to get somewhere.

So far my trip has been pretty amazing. I've had great hosts, great beer and free rides with no major upsets to ruin it all... at least not yet. I was sad to leave Munich because I felt as if I didn't have enough time there, but I was glad to get out of Rothenburg. A quaint and charming little medieval town you'd want to visit - yes, but an exciting rambunctious lively town - no. My two nights were more than enough.

I was excited for Amsterdam. I've heard millions of stories about this "magical" city, as they say, with a few mixed reviews here and there. Most people love it, but others hate the insanity of it all. I can go both ways. I hate big cities with nothing but tourists, but I love thriving cities with character. I wasn't sure if Amsterdam would be too much for my taste, all I knew was that I would soon find out.

Arriving at the terminal late in the afternoon put me right in the middle of "rush hour" bike and tram traffic. A lot seemed to be going on and I had no idea where I was in the city. So far I've learned that my first stop in any city should always, ALWAYS be the tourist office. On my first trip to Europe with my friend Sonia, I rejected the idea of needing guidance from a tourist office. "I can get by," I thought. "Tourist offices are for the old tourists who wear big cameras around their necks and khaki shorts." I wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible, but on this trip I've learned my lesson. First of all there's nothing wrong with asking for help or directions (do you hear this men?) as well as getting a free map of the city and second of all it saves you a shitload of time. Most information is free and they're always helpful.

Anyhow, I went directly to the local TI. The line was ridiculously long, but I opted to wait. I knew which tram I needed to take to get to my next host Tineke's place. I had directions and gave myself ample enough time to get lost. I took Tram #13 as directed and amazingly, I didn't get lost! Once in a while my sense of direction actually works.

Tineke greeted me at the door as I struggled to carry my luggage up a flight of narrow stairs. Her place was nice. I could tell she put a lot of time into decorating it. I had read in her CouchSurfing profile, that she recently went to India. There were several pieces of Eastern influence all around. Tineke also had another couchsufer there. Apparently she messed up a little on her requests and let two of us stay at the same time. The other girl was from Sweden, but lived in Florida for a few years. Her English was good, not great, but good enough.

We settled in and talked, attempting to get to know each other in the short time that we had. Holland had just played that day, and they won, so Tineke was wearing her Orange Holland shirt to support her team. I found out that Tineke worked for the government in social services back in her home town of The Hague. She would ride her bike to the station, then take a one-hour train to work everyday. She said she loved Amsterdam so much that she didn't want to leave when she got that job, hence the one hour commute. The other chick (seriously forgot her name), was on holiday from culinary school. She was nice but seemed a bit odd. I wouldn't be surprised if she did way too many drugs back in high school.

We decided to stay in since it was already 10:30 by the time we finished chatting. The sun of course was still up. I think I'm getting too used to the long days here in Europe. I don't know if I'll be able to handle the sun going down by 7pm when I get back to L.A.

We flipped for who would get the couch and who would get the camping bed. Since I was the first one to couch request, I got the camping bed, which was actually quite comfortable. We were both in her living room and I slept soundly that night.

Day 1 Touring the city, Anne Frank and Chinese Dinner!

The next day I was ready to see what all the hype was about. As soon as I walked out the door, I could feel the charm of Amsterdam working its spell. Just watching the people go about their daily lives, biking, walking, eating kebabs or waiting for the tram, gave me a feel for the character of the city. The vibe was good and I knew I was going to like it here.

I got on the tram and headed for Dam Square where the New Europe free tour would start at 2pm. If you haven't heard of them, they're a tour company in several cities around Europe that give free basic tours of the history of a city. If you haven't used them I would highly recommend it. I first took their tour in Dublin a year ago, and ended up having a beer with the tour guide and some girls from Nebraska. Another friend recommended this same tour to me for Amsterdam, and since the price was right (free with tips), I would take up the opportunity.

The New Europe Amsterdam tour took about three hours. I learned a few nifty things about Amsterdam, like how several corners of buildings had "pee-deflectors" to keep drunk men from peeing on the walls. Or how Amsterdam got its name because it was the "Amstel next to the dam." I was also able to observe how bike riding was an art over here - this was proven when I saw a man who had his celfone in one hand and a cigarette in another, making a left turn at a street light; and that it was no joke that they'd try to run you down if you were in their way - don't ignore the bells!

After the tour, I learned a lot about the history of the city and the Dutch, especially during the war, pointing out the infamous Anne Frank House around the corner. I was also hoping the tour would help me orient myself better around the city, but by the end of it I realized that would be a lost cause. Every street, building, corner looked the same! All the buildings were pressed against each other, preventing me from seeing the next closest landmark. I found many "interesting" routes to a destinations during my stay, with highlights such as the Red Light District and innumerous "coffee shops" with potent smells of freshly lit cannabis.

Afterwards our tour guide invited us to go eat some "Stampot" a native Dutch dish of potatoes and sausage. I joined half of the tour group for this traditional dish, while watching the next football match on a big screen. I sat next to a white boy from Arizona, who was cool at first but ended up being a little ignorant and racist. To be fair he was 19 quite too young to know the error of his ways and he was from Arizona. He made a racist comment about Mexicans and I think the unsaid rule still stands, that if you're white you can't openly comment about other colored races in an ignorant and offensive manner. Isn't that why Jesse Helms got in trouble? I'm not saying it's fair, but I didn't make the rules.

I proceeded to the Anne Frank House. I was excited to see where the famous little girl wrote her diary and hid, from a book I read over ten years ago. I knew I would be humbled by the experience, but that was a bit of an understatement. As I said in a previous blog, I want to write about my WWII remembrance experience in a separate blog, along with the Dachau Concentration Camp experience. So I'll save it for that.

The day ended with me meeting up Tineke for dinner at an Asian restaurant. It wasn't that interesting so I'll spare you the details.

Day 2 Van Gogh and pub crawling!

The next day I visited the Van Gogh museum. It was a must-see on my tourist list. Although the art of Van Gogh was impressive to see in person, it wasn't the best layout for a museum. I did learn a lot about the life of Van Gogh as an artist. Since he only painted for about 10 years, there wasn't an explosive amount of work to be displayed. It was fascinating however to see his progression as an artist within the 10 years. He went from very traditional painting to abstract and impressionistic; the gradual change was evident throughout the years of his work. I was bummed that the famous "Starry Starry Night" painting wasn't there, but I already knew that going in. His famous "Yellow House" was displayed and it was again an impressive piece to observe.

Afterwards I met up with Tineke again and signed up for a late night pub crawl! It was with the same tour group company New Europe. We joined the special 15 Euro Red Light District pub crawl with free shots of jager and tons of drunk foreigners. The night ended up being a lot of talking, beer and jager -which by the end of the night ended up being the most disgusting thing to taste. I met two girls from UCLA who were studying abroad in Paris for the summer and two guys from Long Beach. No matter where I go, home is always close behind. The night ended with a headache but lots of fun conversation back and forth. Soon the night was over and It was time to sleep.

Day 3 The Heineken Experience and saying adéu to Amsterdam!

The Heineken Factory was next on my list. I compared it to my Guinness Factory tour in Dublin and assessed that the overall layout of Guinness was better. However Heineken did surprise me with a lot of cool and interesting interactive activities.

First of all they had a ride, yes a ride! Okay not a real ride, but nevertheless a ride. What beer factory has that? It was basically you standing on a platform in front of a screen that took you through the beer-making process as if you were one of the ingredients. The platform moved and wobbled as if you were right on the assembly line. And it played along with temperatures too. If you were "dropped in water" they splashed you with a spray of water; or boiling, the red lights turned on and the heat went up; or if you were about to be cleaned and bottled, they blew wind in your face; just enough to make you squint and want to fix your hair. Afterwards they treated you with a nice cool glass of beer for being such a good sport.

Throughout the factory were other cool things like a sing-along karaoke green screen that recorded you and you could send to your email. They had electronic postcards you could take your picture with and also email to yourself. They had techno-looking brightly lit green chairs with an interactive video and a lounge with images projected all around playing loud music - possibly the Heineken "Coffee Shop?" Finally at the end of it all, you got yet another beer in a bar/lounge you could stand and drink with your friends. Unfortunately I went alone, but the beer was still good to drink solo. I bought a few souvenirs and was on my way to Vondel Park.

I chilled in Vondel Park after a bit then headed back to town do a little shopping. This is when I ran into the two girls from LA who was on the pub crawl. They were headed to a "coffee shop" and invited me along. Now in the spirit of Amsterdam, I tagged along. But I'll leave that story for my informal one-on-ones.

Enjoying the city and spirit of Amsterdam was an experience like no other. Its spell and charm fully worked on me and I will be one of the positive reviewers to come back home with only good stories to tell about this hyped-up city. My fond memories will include, couch surfing, getting lost, watching football, having too much Jager, smelling sweet "fresh" aromas of coffee shops and windows full of low-priced hot/ugly prostitutes; just a block away from a 2 Euro/2 min pep show theater, full of horny dudes who didn't have enough money for the real thing.

Oh Amsterdam I will never forget you!