Amsterdam for a second time

nothing really much to report really, if the title of this blog isnt a give away enough, i'd been to Amsterdam before (click here to see the post from last time) i enjoyed it so much, that when Sarah was thinking of places we could go for a few days before she headed back home, i instantly decided that we should come back for round two.
the train ride was reasonably painless, but i didnt really have much distance to travel. but i was still feeling the effects of doing too much and had a splitting headache when i got off train so i headed straight for my hostel. as soon as i openned the door, i was hit in the face with smoke, as if to remind me where i was. Sarah wasnt getting into Amsterdam until about 7pm that evening so i took the opportunity and went to my room and i slept. it was probably the best idea i've ever had, it did me the world of good and amazingly i woke up just as Sarah was walking in the front door of the hostel.

pretty much for the next couple of days we had coffee, ate, one place we went to had this massive cat, who acted like he pretty much owned the place. its actually not that uncommon to see a furry friend mainly to keep the other little furry ones away. Amsterdam has a bit of a problem with mice, mainly due to the water. i brought a few things in a couple of the vintage stores here. i'm so sick of sticking to a budget so it thought bugger it and brought a jacket, a vest, a flannelette shirt and a few other little bits and pieces, it didnt really cost me that much either. i really hate having limited things to wear, i always feel i'm wearing the same clothes all the time, so i think a few new additions to the wardrobe should do the trick.

i saw and found out a couple of other things while i was here. one of them was, back in the day, how much you were taxed depended upon how wide your house was. so, needless to say, there are some pretty skinny little homes around the place, the smallest being just 1.8m wide, how does someone live like that? oh and have you ever wondered why all the sporting teams from the Netherlands dress in Orange even though orange doesnt appear on there flag? i know that i have. it turns out its because they were governed by the House of Orange. also even though it is legal here in Amsterdam, New Zealand is the number 1 user of Cannabis on the planet. i tell you, when i get back i think i might do the Trivia night circuit, i think i would make a killing with the amount of worthless knowledge i've picked up along the way.

when i travel i really like to involve myself into things that are typical of that particular area, whether it be a national dish or perhaps a drink, so of course i wouldnt be doing myself justice if i didnt try what Amsterdam is known for. (just like the last blog Nanna, this is where you have to stop reading for a while) across the road from our hostel, Sarah and I (mainly Sarah) got wind that there was a cafe that sold hash muffins, so Sarah twisted my arm and made me go over. let me just say that Sarah is a really bad influence, i was like 'Please Sarah, don't force me to put this devils cake into my mouth, what would my Nanna think?' but she wouldn't take no for an answer and shoved it down my throat. at first nothing really happened except my arms and legs were a little bit heavier than usual but that was about it. i thought that maybe we had a dud batch, so a said to Sarah that we should go to this resturant that i went to last time i was here that was just across the river. so we made it to the dock and waited for our ferry. i couldnt remember which ferry it was so i asked a guy if he knew which one i needed to get, once he found out we were both Australian he was very talkative. but in the middle of him chatting, the hash muffin kicked it. it was like a switch, one second i was fine the next i was somewhere else and was trying my best to talk to this guy without breaking into fits of laughter. anyway we boarded the ferry and set off to the other side, but when we got there i couldnt remember how to get to the resturant, from memory it was a bit of a distance and i wasnt really in the state of mind to find it, so we had a bit of a giggle about it and got back on the ferry and headed back. we wound up in a Kabab shop (as you do) then Sarah said to me 'can we not eat here?' i was thinking, whats wrong with his place, i'm going to have you speak about kababs that way, esspecially since they have been a stable part of my diet since been traveling, i've become defensive about them. but it wasnt the food she was freaking out about, she asked me if her mouth was moving and told her 'nup' she was convinced it was chattering and began to flip out a little bit, i couldnt help but laugh. so i got the kababs we ordered and sat out side on the steps of our hostel. Sarah thought it might be a good idea if she went inside and had a lay down for a while, before we knew it she had fallen asleep by 8:30pm, what a party animal! we both had a good laugh about it the next day and both realised how extremely uncool we are. (OK Nanna you can continue reading).

actually come to think of it, Nanna you might not want to read this next story either its a little bit beyond the PG rating i've tried to keep to for the rest of the blog. i call this story 'the calamity of sleeping in hostels'. let me set the scene for you, it was our first night we stayed at the hostel and we were in a 18 bed mixed dorm room (may i remind you i said 18 beds, which means 18 people in this one room) it was probably about 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning when i got woken up to the sound of squeaking. which in some circumstances isnt to out of the usual, you know, people rolling over in the night and whatnot. but when the squeaking almost had a rhythm to it i felt something was up, and it certainly was for one gentleman in the room. seems that him and his girlfriend were, well, lets just just say they were 'in the throws' and didnt seem to mind that there were quite a number of people in the room with them. i had to put the pillow over my head to get some sleep. the next day i found it really hard to look at them without having a giggle under my breath. i told Sar about it and she said that she didnt hear a thing, lucky for her she didnt miss out on the encore the next night when they kept both of us up. in the whole time i've been travelling i havent come across that yet, and i find it hard to see how you could in that situation. and to do it twice, thats just plain cocky.

the past couple of days have been really relaxing and enjoyable, in comparison to when i arrived, i feel a hell of a lot better. Next i fly to London to stay with Sar for a couple more days. more when i get there.