Hallo from Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is about as opposite of India as it’s possible to get. Here, the traffic is efficient, the bathrooms are ridiculously clean, and the prices are sticker-shockingly high. It’s also grey, rainy and colder than it was in Montreal when I left.
Despite this, I keep forgetting how much I love this city, and a visit every once in a while serves as a fantastic reminder. An airline schedule change left me with the happy accident of a day to spend in this city, and I took full advantage.
Red eye fever
I arrived here this morning after an uneventful overnight flight that was on time and rather pleasant — well, as pleasant as an overnight flight in sardine economy class can be, anyway. I watched a post-apocalyptic movie — I guess the US election was on my mind — picked at the food, and dozed a bit. Before I knew it, I was in Europe, a little tired but a lot glad to be here. My bag was the first one off the carousel. Yep, Watarimono, my travel ninja, is along for the ride this trip, and he’s already proving his worth.
From Schiphol, it was a short hop, skip, train and tram ride into the city. This is such a well-planned city; bikes rule, transit is simple and efficient, and everything worth seeing is easily walkable. Much love for you, Amsterdam.
I’m staying at a lovely Bed & Breakfast in the Vondelpark area. The owner was there to greet me when I arrived this morning, and even had my room ready early. Unfortunately, this gave me the temptation to break the cardinal rule of jet lag and take a nap — I hadn’t managed much sleep on the plane, and I was approaching the wavy stage of tiredness. I knew that succumbing would just make everything worse, but I gave in and closed my eyes and dozed for an hour or so anyway. I hope I won’t regret that later.
A day in the ‘dam
I did manage to drag myself up around lunchtime, local time. After grabbing a quick lunch at the cafe around the corner, I set out to explore. I haven’t been to Amsterdam properly (other than airport connections) in quite some time, so I decided I didn’t want to waste this opportunity.
First, I meandered through Vondelpark, taking in the beautiful fall foliage and reminding myself of the trick to walking in this city without getting hit by a bike.
I emerged in the Museum Quarter just as it started to rain. Oh well, sounds like a perfect excuse to see some art, then! I spent the next couple of hours at the Van Gogh museum, which I somehow never made it to on past visits, even though I kept meaning to. It wasn’t too crowded, being a Tuesday afternoon in November. The tale of Van Gogh’s brand of mad genius combined with diligence to his craft was told in a few stories of art, correspondence and context. A superb museum.
After that, I hopped back on the tram towards the centre of town, hopping off to check out some shops, market areas, and to just meander along the canals. I checked out a local cheese shop where I was happy to sample the product. I browsed at the flower market. I snapped photos of the architecture and neighbourhoods. It’s easy to get jaded about big cities when you travel; many of them start to resemble one another. But Amsterdam retains its unique character, and I appreciate it so much for that.
Dutch pub crawl
The sun sets early this time of year. Once it was dark, what was there to do but check out the Amsterdam craft beer scene? Don’t mind if I do!
So, this evening, I took myself on a bit of an improvised pub crawl of Amsterdam. I visited three pubs, having dinner at one of them, and trying out some of the best microbrews this city has to offer. The Dutch are the most friendly people on the planet; the bartenders are happy to pour free samples of whatever you want to taste, and to make plenty of recommendations along the way. I wouldn’t dare insult anyone by asking if they speak English; most of them speak it better than I do. And of course, the universal pub language applies anywhere; solo travel is never solo unless you want it to be. Sitting at a pub sipping local brews and chatting with locals, I felt a million miles away from everything going on back home, and the **** show going on stateside.
Damn the Trump; Amsterdam is awesome.
At the third pub — conveniently right around the corner from my B&B — I met an Irish guy who lives in Berlin and is here on business, and we got to chatting. By the time I looked at my watch, several hours (and a few tasters) had gone by. It was time to call it a night, so I headed back to get some sleep before tomorrow’s flight to India.
Vaarwel, Amsterdam. I loved having this chance to catch up with you. It was short but sweet. I’ll hopefully be back soon.