Traveling is amazing. Seriously - the fact that we can take 3 or 4 day trips every weekend and not even bring a single schoolbook with us is beautiful. Of course, the recovery day (you know, when you adjust from being on vacation back to being in the real world) can be wasteful... especially if you get back on a Monday, feel lazy on Tuesday, and are ready to go by Wednesday... the last day of class! And then leave again on Friday. It's a nice little cycle. Then again, I am feeling more and more like this is three months of vacation - we have schoolwork and we go to class (more updates on that later) - but it is a lot more.... indulgent, if you will... than normal, non-abroad life. I am anticipating quite a rude awakening come January 16, the first day of class next semester.
Anyway, on to Amsterdam! Unfortunately my camera broke last week at Oktoberfest so I didn't have my own this weekend. I've snagged some from the other people on the trip, so 100% cred to them (Corey, Jenny, Michael). I'll keep this one short because my last one for Oktoberfest was quite the reading assignment, sorry.
We arrived on Friday afternoon, to beautiful and sunny weather. An easy bus ride from the airport took us to our hostel, StayOkay Vondelpark. It was in a nicer area of the city - about a 20 minute walk from the red light district, but right near the museums and a huge park (Vondelpark). The hostel wasn't great - it probably ranks above Istanbul's Chillout hostel, but below the others I've stayed in. It worked though, and we didn't have any random people in our 6 bunkbed + 1 rolling trundle + 1 sink, shower, and toilet, teeny room.
Mike really enjoyed the rolling bed.Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful cities I've seen throughout my travels. The entire city is built around canals - basically every other block there is a bridge to go over another canal. So, all of the water, tree-lined streets, brick sidewalks, and beautiful architecture really make it a romantic and very pretty city. We had great weather the whole time, which of course adds to the experience in any city. You could sit along the canal - literally the edge of the sidewalk is the edge of the canal:
(Brandon, Michael, Mike, and Corey)
This is how all of the streets looked!
The girls by a canal (Dalila, Jenny, and me)The entire city is walkable - we never even needed to take public transportation. It is pretty touristy in a lot of areas, but that makes for some competitive prices on food! We ate SO much - traveling really makes you realize how bad English food is. French fries, waffles, Dutch pancakes, Indonesian food, Argentinian Steakhouses, Falafel -- basically we just ate the entire time. The waffles there are unbelievable. In any bakery or sandwich shop you could find these delicious fresh waffles with different chocolate toppings, and most places you could get them heated up with whipped cream or ice cream. Here's Jenny with a chocolate covered one -
I know it seems crazy to talk about waffles this much, but if you knew how many we ate and how many waffle searches we embarked upon, you'd understand.
At an Argentinian Steakhouse on the first night. Rare Steak, Chorizo, Fries, and Ice cream. What more could you want?
The red light district was crazy! We went there Friday and Saturday night, and just walked around (to the boys' dismay, we never made it to a live sex show). The prostitutes literally stand in the window and smile at people passing by, or dance to whatever music they have playing. They are practically naked and completely made up in different costumes and sexy lingerie. It was a really weird experience and definitely inspired a few conversations among the group about prostitution. I think the general consensus was that we're glad it's not legal in the US, and that since this is such a crazy exception, it makes it more acceptable? I don't know. We really just wanted to hire a prostitute for a couple of hours, take her out to dinner, and talk to her about her life, but I don't think that would have gone over well. The major question is whether they really are choosing to do that -- if they are 100%, then it's fine by me -- or whether they're forced into that by some sort of class/economic situation... in which case I am less accepting of the "sex industry." Either way, this could inspire some great material or discussion for the next issue of The Fword! I don't have any photos because you're not allowed to take any, so you'll have to use your imagination. There are a lot of red lights, a ton of people on narrow streets, and a whole lot of half naked women. I think that pretty much sums it up.
Now, the moment you've all been waiting for, I'm sure -- the "Coffee shops." In the "Centrum" area (city center), there were literally coffee shops on every corner. Obviously, I've never seen anything like it, but it was even crazier than I expected. You smelled weed any time of day if you walked past, and a lot of people even smoked outdoors (even though that's supposedly less legally acceptable? I don't know). Interestingly enough, they don't sell alcohol at the coffee shops - just coffee, tea, juices, and a whole lot of marijuana. Again, I think I'm happy it's not like this in the US.
A famous coffeeshop where a scene of Ocean's 12 was filmed! Who knew? Thanks for the trivia, Corey.
I know it seems crazy to talk about waffles this much, but if you knew how many we ate and how many waffle searches we embarked upon, you'd understand.
At an Argentinian Steakhouse on the first night. Rare Steak, Chorizo, Fries, and Ice cream. What more could you want?The red light district was crazy! We went there Friday and Saturday night, and just walked around (to the boys' dismay, we never made it to a live sex show). The prostitutes literally stand in the window and smile at people passing by, or dance to whatever music they have playing. They are practically naked and completely made up in different costumes and sexy lingerie. It was a really weird experience and definitely inspired a few conversations among the group about prostitution. I think the general consensus was that we're glad it's not legal in the US, and that since this is such a crazy exception, it makes it more acceptable? I don't know. We really just wanted to hire a prostitute for a couple of hours, take her out to dinner, and talk to her about her life, but I don't think that would have gone over well. The major question is whether they really are choosing to do that -- if they are 100%, then it's fine by me -- or whether they're forced into that by some sort of class/economic situation... in which case I am less accepting of the "sex industry." Either way, this could inspire some great material or discussion for the next issue of The Fword! I don't have any photos because you're not allowed to take any, so you'll have to use your imagination. There are a lot of red lights, a ton of people on narrow streets, and a whole lot of half naked women. I think that pretty much sums it up.
Now, the moment you've all been waiting for, I'm sure -- the "Coffee shops." In the "Centrum" area (city center), there were literally coffee shops on every corner. Obviously, I've never seen anything like it, but it was even crazier than I expected. You smelled weed any time of day if you walked past, and a lot of people even smoked outdoors (even though that's supposedly less legally acceptable? I don't know). Interestingly enough, they don't sell alcohol at the coffee shops - just coffee, tea, juices, and a whole lot of marijuana. Again, I think I'm happy it's not like this in the US.
A famous coffeeshop where a scene of Ocean's 12 was filmed! Who knew? Thanks for the trivia, Corey.Besides the beautiful city itself, there is a lot to see in Amsterdam - we went to the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank House (or Huis, in Dutch...). The Anne Frank House was definitely well done, but also a little creepy.
One more thing to mention about the trip - the bicycles! EVERYONE rides a bike in Amsterdam. People of all ages, wearing anything from a business suit to a dress and high heels, even when it was very cold out at night... all across the city! On any lamp post, bridge railing, sidewalk, etc., there were dozens of bikes leaning against each other. Most of them didn't even have locks! The bikes are those cruiser types, with the low seat and the high handlebar and a cute basket in front. It looks like so much fun! The bikes have the same traffic rules as the cars, if not the right of way in many cases. They ride on the street sometimes, but there are a ton of wide bike lanes that you better not get caught walking on.
Bikes along a canal
Dalila and I have black raincoats so people think we're sisters.
One more thing to mention about the trip - the bicycles! EVERYONE rides a bike in Amsterdam. People of all ages, wearing anything from a business suit to a dress and high heels, even when it was very cold out at night... all across the city! On any lamp post, bridge railing, sidewalk, etc., there were dozens of bikes leaning against each other. Most of them didn't even have locks! The bikes are those cruiser types, with the low seat and the high handlebar and a cute basket in front. It looks like so much fun! The bikes have the same traffic rules as the cars, if not the right of way in many cases. They ride on the street sometimes, but there are a ton of wide bike lanes that you better not get caught walking on.
Bikes along a canal
Dalila and I have black raincoats so people think we're sisters. In other news, I am randomly featured on the 34th Street Blog (Under The Button)! I've always wanted to be famous. Of course, whoever found me doesn't know me that well... they really think my name is Rachel Knight Squire. People, come ON. Facebook lies -- and who would be named Knight Squire???? Wow. Anyway, thanks for the shoutout, whoever wrote it! Now I'll have to try harder. Check it out: http://underthebutton.com/2008/10/around-the-world-in-10-blogs/
In honor of that, here is a broken button that we found in the Museum area of Amsterdam:
Classes are going well -- definitely not as good as Penn classes, but I can't complain, considering the workload. I like my history class a lot, but the rest are just okay. Maybe they'll get better? I'm off to the theater tonight (Ivanov with Kenneth Branagh) and Dublin with Uncle Danny this weekend.
Cheers!
1 comment:
I'm so jealous! You are going everywhere! Bet you're having a blast. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that prostitution is actually legal in Nevada, but that's the only state in the US with legal prostitution :)
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