4th to 7th of February, 2022.
Walking through Amsterdam, I start to think about many things. There are plenty of people outside in bars, pubs, cafés and restaurants, and for some reason I don’t feel bad about it, not like in other places where I have been. Here it just fits. So I wonder if I would like to live this kind of life again. But what really surprises me is how many people are doing this, like going out for drinks and food. It is a huge part of people’s life. Why?
Amsterdam will always be remembered by me for its houses. Hundreds of houses, attached to each other, all with huge windows, with three or four floors, all alongside the canals. Sometimes they look just like mirrors. The houses and the streets. I think it is beautiful but sometimes it seems also non original. And the fact that people don’t use curtains. What is that? These houses are all at the street. When you pass by them, you are right at their windows, and because they are so huge, you can look inside and see everything what is going on. And people living on these houses don’t use damn curtains. Of course when you are walking it takes only a few seconds (assuming that you are not a maniac starring at people’s windows), but still, I think it is something so personal. I could never live like that. Anyway, that will be always the image which will come to my mind when I think about Amsterdam.
Rahul and I get along pretty well since the beginning. He is very relaxed, easy going and funny. I laugh a lot with him. After taking a shower (so I can feel human again), I prepare some tortillas for us, with Rahul’s help, using some eggs and tin vegetables. We talk for a while but soon after we both go to bed because we are exhausted.
Next morning the plan is taking a free ferry to an outside part of town, where there is a lot of art projects going on, but also street art. From there, Rahul will go to meet some friends at NEMO Museum and I will continue exploring the city.
We take the free ferry from Pontsteiger to NDSM. It is a short trip but at least you can be in a boat in Amsterdam for free! And the best part is that this area is super cool. You can either just come for a walk, or plan a whole day, bring a picnic and some drinks. There is plenty of places to visit, many art studios to explore and to spend the day. The STRAAT Museum it is a huge complex which used to be a shipyard (or a place where they built and repair ships) and only for that it would be cool enough. But there is plenty of different art studios and projects inside (which you can also see for free), apart of paid exhibitions from time to time. Just nearby there is this fun complex, all made out of colorful containers, where you can find art studios, tattoo shop, restaurants, hair saloon, etc. Also in this area there is a huge fleamarket. I just don’t know their schedule.
We then take another free ferry, this time to bring us to the city centre, at the Central Station. From there, we go for some free tasting chocolate and cheese. What? Yeah! Well, it is not how they are advertised, of course, but if you are smart enough, you can just go there and try some chocolate and lots of cheese for free. What am I talking about it? Well, there is this very famous chocolate brand from the Netherlands, called Tony’s, and they have a shop right in the city centre. Now, while most of people come there to actually by chocolate, you can simply come to try on the free samples they serve. Just don’t behave like ogre and eat as you were in a chocolate buffet. Be polite and act as you are just trying what you are about to purchase. The same is for the cheese shops. Better if you visit the ones in the city centre because they are always so busy, with people actually buying lots of cheese, so you can just walk through the shop and try as many cheeses as you like. They even have some bread and crackers some times. Yummy!
We walk to the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, where hundreds of pigeons are kind of the main entertainment. They come to you and sit in your hands, or in your hand, so many people take photographs with them. From there we go to a local and very traditional place for chips (or fries as they call them here), called Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx. I try an also traditional Dutch sauce with peanut butter: Oorlog sauce (basically is mayonnaise with a peanut butter sauce called Satari plus onions. It is delicious!).
The OBA Oosterdock (a public library) is a good place to use the toilets for free. From there, you can go up to the rooftop of the NEMO museum, for a great view of the city and the National Maritime Museum, which is a gorgeous building (and I regret not have taken a photograph)! There are some cool boats around this area too, so take a closer look.
I just go for a bit more of sightseeing. I wanted to exchange my book per another, in a very nice second hand bookshop called The Exchange Book Shop, but my book got all wet and a bit damage yesterday, so I just dropped by in one of this bookshelf they have all over the city. The books are for free so you can just grab some and drop other. But I went to the second hand bookshop anyway, looking for some of the titles in my list, and I find almost all of them. I decided to buy only two: The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, and The Sonnets of Shakespeare. I also visit a quite famous street market, on Albert Cuypstraat, and finally have my fresh stroopwafels. Oh! It taste so good! I am in love with stroopwafels! And the guy selling them at the food truck is so charming! The place is number 180 and it is called The Original Stroopwafels. Very original!
I buy some veggies to make dinner for me and Rahul, plus for some friends of him, a couple, who is coming over to play some board games. We eat all together and I finally have my Heineken from the Netherlands. Oh, Loki! I don’t care what people say: it is my favourite lager beer and I think it is delicious! We play a funny board game about birds but it has some many rules and possibilities!
Next day Rahul has another appointment and I just want to go quickly to the city to visit a few more spots. The Rijksmuseum is a gorgeous building! I don’t know about inside but front and back are amazing! And in the back there is a nice enough garden with a beautiful huge tree. I pass by the Van Gogh Museum (nothing special about it), and a few more places. There is a lot of pretty old buildings in Amsterdam, and for sure lots of things to do and to see.
Going back home, I am attacked by an extremely strong hail storm. It really hurts me! Apart of that, of course, I get soaked again. Great!
I prepare another dinner for me and Rahul, and after eating we watch a movie: The Interpreter. It is not bad but I was expecting so much more. The movie itself had a lot of potential, but it was wasted by lack of capacity from the writers and director.
Next morning I plan to leave around 10 o’clock, by the same time Rahul is going to work. Oh, boy, what a journey was expecting me and I had no clue…
