We are still having some difficulty adjusting our bodies to the time schedule here, although this may be partly due to a lack of commitment on our parts to changing our hours. Case in point: we stayed up until about 3am in Amsterdam last night (or about 10pm EDT). This in turn, led to us sleeping in a bit at the "bed and no-breakfast" and having the owner “scold” us as we were late to checkout. But, we got going, and after dropping our bags off at the train station, we were ready to do some exploring in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam.
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| Erin shows off our "deluxe" accommodations; the owner was nice enough to let us do laundry - it is drying in the background. |
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| The view from our Amsterdam accomodations. |
Our first stop took us to the “Centraal” Train Station where we put our luggage in the storage lockers. James had a map of the city, but, as with Brussels, found it a bit difficult to navigate. Amsterdam central is a relatively compact place, with a large network of canals. There are lots of bridges across the canals, and it can be a bit confusing at times to figure out exactly which bridge you are on.
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| One of the many, many canals winding through the city. |
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| Tabitha perched on the edge of a pedestrian bridge as a tour boat quickly approaches. |
In general, Amsterdam is one of the most liberal places in Europe. For example, using cannabis (or marijuana) is legal here, as are prostitution, same-sex marriage, and assisted-suicide. We also saw quite bit of public drinking, absinthe for sale, a tea house that incorporated cocoa leaves, and plenty of sidewalk gambling establishments. We quickly learned that 'cafe' means 'pub,' and that 'coffee shops' are where you can purchase and use marijuana. We wandered throughout the cobblestone streets, and were in awe of the number of sidewalk cafes and pubs filled with people from all over the world. Amsterdam is truly a tourist mecca, but unlike Paris, it is compressed and distilled down, causing everyone to rub elbows in the bustling, winding streets.
Many people living in Amsterdam travel by bicycle. In fact, according to our Lonely Planet travel book, nearly eighty-thousand bicycles are stolen in Amsterdam annually. (After walking around all day and seeing many unlocked bicycles, we can see how it would be easy to just hop on a bike and take it. Which is not to say we did). We've included some pictures below to help you get an understanding of how popular biking is as a means of transportation here in Amsterdam.
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| This woman demonstrates the Amsterdam alternative to carpooling. |
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| One of the many bike parking spaces outside the train station. |
We enjoyed lunch in a small Dutch soup cafe. While Dutch is the official language here, many people also speak English, and most of the signs for things are in English as well. We had no problem reading, navigating, or communicating here in Amsterdam.
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| This fast-food restaurant was comprised entirely of vending machines. |
After our lunch, we ventured into the Amsterdam's famous “Red Light District.” For those who aren't familiar with this, it is the primary area for prostitution in Amsterdam. As we walked down the many streets in the area, we saw many stores with sex paraphenelia, as well as quite a few booths filled with women selling their services. It was a bit odd to look into a window and see a woman wearing lingerie actually trying to attract you to her booth. We didn't explore the area at night (in fact it was about 3pm), but we have to imagine that it is much more lively and probably a much different scene in the evenings.
Before heading to the train station, we made a pit-stop at the Deb'Jenkorf department store where we looked at modern furniture, Christmas décor, and some interesting gadgets by Pylones. We also stopped at the Albert Heijn supermarket chain where we purchased dinner for ourselves and some snacks for the long train ride ahead. (We were pleasantly surprised by how reasonably priced groceries and beverages were here in Amsterdam). We arrived at the train station in time to gather our luggage and find the right departure gate. We boarded the train with the hope that our overnight trip to Berlin would go smoothly and easily.
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| We're on our way to the train - traveling "light" as always. |
