So i arrived at Amsterdam central where i was meant to meet up with Gabe and Anna but they werent't coming into later that night, so i just checked into my hostel (probably the worst so far) and wandered around the city. it was kind of cool because being a Hendrick, this is probably where i'm from. it's such a beautiful city. when you think of Amsterdam you automatically think that its seedy because pot is legal here and because of the red light district but that is such a small part of Amsterdam. it was kinda funny watching all the underage 16 year old kids wetting there pants in the red light district but also i found it a little sad. the girls were quite beautiful (something i didn't expect) and young and had there whole life ahead of them i couldn't help but wonder, what are you doing here?
I kept wandering around the city and found a couple of art gallerys that had openning nights so i had a look around them, the first was paints and drawings which were ok and the second was a photographic exhibition which as brilliant some of the subject was tokyo so it reminded me of a few places i'd seen only last week. lucky for me there were free beers and a got to sample some local cheese, wow the cheese is amazing! i also go chatting to a girl named Margot, that worked at the gallery (by the way peoples english here perfect) i was telling her that my first impressions weren't what i expected and she was telling me that the government here are actually trying to buy up alot of the red light district to clean up the area and are giving the space to small fashion labels to help them set up a business, but she said that is come with a few conflicts because a lot of amsterdams history revolves around it. for many many years sailors would come into port and go straight there.
the next day i went to Anne Frank's house, anne was a bit of a one hit wonder really, she only wrote one book. but her house is quite clean i'll give her that. in all seriousness it was pretty tragic to go through the house and see the way she lived, at the house i saw a video of her father talking about his daughter, i have to be honest and say i felt a bit of lump in my throat. i'm really glad i got to see it. if you want to see me in a video message at the Anne Frank museum click here.
Anyway, i met up with Gabe and Anne and met there friend Celine who was from Belgium and we hired bikes for a couple of days so we could check out more of the town, bikes are a HUGE part of amsterdam lifestyle, i thought Japan were pretty crazy with there bikes but Amsterdam are mental! probably from tourist like myself who cant get there head around riding on the otherside of the road. anyway, we found some really cool vintage stores, and again i had to restrain myself from going wild. we also went to the sex museum, turns out theres more than one position.
Another day we met up with another friend of Gabe and Anna's, this time an old uni friend Jennette who lives over here now, we were lucky because she had organised with her friend Martin to take us out in his boat, so we brought a few essentials ie wine and cheese (which again was amazing, we ate the whole wheel!) and took off around the canels. easily the best way to see Amsterdam. really beautiful. at one stage we had to fully duck to clear the bridge. i asked Martin about the buildings around the canal and how they were sagging, he told me that the lean outward is intentional, it was built that way to help people in the top floors pull there furniture up without smashing the other windows and they continue to build houses like that even today. however the lean side ways is mainly due to the Nazi's. during the war people were hiding things in the canals so the germans wouldn't steal it so the Nazi's mucked with the canals water levels constantly and it caused the houses to sag.
Of course when in Amsterdam you have to have some pot, (ok nanna this is where you stop reading for a little bit) we when to a coffee shop and ordered a spliff. to be honest i found the whole experience a little strange, the spliff came in a plastic package like it was a pen or something (which kind of felt wrong) and they don't come mixed with tobacco its pure weed. but i can't say it didn't really did it for me, and i wasnt the only one, Gabe and Anna felt the same way. but it was experience you kind of have to do while your here. (ok nanna you can start reading again)
I went to the Van Gogh museum which was really cool. i was totally blown away by some of the work, one of his self portaits in particular, his eyes torn straight through me. amazing! of course i saw the 'sunflowers' but unfortuately they had lent out 'the potato eaters' it was in New York or something, which was a shame. i was strange to see these masterpieces in real life, almost surreal because i read so much about them and seen them in magazines over the years and then to be face to face with them was some else!
Another night Jennette took us out to dinner and a theater performance, i was a little worried because it kind of broke the budget a little bit but i shouldn't have worried. We had to catch a ferry across the water with our bikes (which by the way was free because the government think its cheaper to have a ferry system than build a bridge) to an island. when we got off it was like an industral area, i was thinking 'where the hell is she taking us?' anyway, after a little bit of riding we found a giant glass house that had been turned into a resturant which was right on the water. it was pretty cool and was totally packed out, the food was pretty good too. after that we made our way to the play, it felt like we rode for ages and we got further and further into the industral area. (actually on the way i saw some amazing buildings, one in particular was a block of appartments that were made of old shipping containers, i remember reading about them years ago, i never thought i'd see them.) we got to the 'theater' and it was a construction site with a thousand seats surrounding it. the show began and is was so cool it used things within the construction site in such innovative ways even at one stage using a crane to drop in sets and a small plane! also they had some really cool lo-fi projections like shadow puppets etc and live music to accompany the play. it was quite funny too, even though i had no idea what they were talking about. The production company were called Dogtroep supposidly they get given strange environments and they have to make the story around that, which is quite clever what they come up with. They have been running since 1975 and this was there last ever preformance because the government have pulled funding, i can't imagine why, it was BRILLIANT and all the shows were fully booked. A bit of shame to see it end really it was easily one of the best things i've have ever seen in my life.
one thing i've noticed about Amsterdam is that how alot of travelers don't go outside the tourist areas, its so stupid. some of the best things i've found have been wandering around outside the tourist spots. also it seems English tourist in particular just go to places and don't experience anything about that culture, they find the nearest english pub and drink the same old beer they drank back home, get smashed and then go back to there hotel.
overall i really enjoyed Amsterdam, i could even see myself maybe even living there at some stage, the people are so friendly and the place is really cool. anyway, i said goodbye to Gabe and Anna and headed to Rotterdam... i'll keep you posted how it goes.
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