AMSTERDAM for a WEEK = HEAVEN

July 1-7: Amsterdam

Jacqueline and I have returned to Germany safe and sound, after a wonderful and warm week in Holland. Returning to Amsterdam made me realize how much I really miss the sparkling canals and beautiful architecture. This has made me start thinking of ways to return: a Masters program at the University of Amsterdam (the same school I spent a semester at over a year ago) or perhaps employment (which is vey difficult). We will see!

A method of hospitality Jacqueline and I decided to test out was the concept of couch surfing. There is a website for this, where travelers and those offering hospitality over the world have profiles, so travelers and home owners can discuss the possibility of staying at a house/apartment for free (instead of paying for a hotel or hostel, which would come in handy for poor travelers). Jacqueline’s cousin had tried out this method in the past with nothing but success, and so Jacqueline made an account and searched for hospitality in the Netherlands. She found an apartment that was on the east side of Amsterdam, where a guy lived that was willing to let us stay at his place if we helped clean the kitchen. This seemed fair enough, so we decided to give it a try. However, when we arrived the apartment, it was so dirty that my neat-freak self could not handle it. Good thing I had reservations for a hostel, just in case!

We arrived in Amsterdam Thursday evening and found our way from our couch surfing spot to Bob’s Youth Hostel, which was located close to Dam Square. This was a great location and the rooms were spacious and clean (thank god!). We went to Pancake Bakery for dinner, which was definitely a favorite spot of mine when I was studying and took it easy our first night.

Our first full day in Amsterdam was spent at a lake that I had never before been to. This was a great afternoon of laying out, swimming in the lake (which was very refreshing since it was so hot out), and watching part of the Holland soccer match in the bar. However, the bar was so packed that it was simply miserable to sit and watch, so we missed Holland’s two goals – but that was OK since they won! That night we had plans to go to a club called Bitterzout (Bittersweet), which turned out to be kind of lame due to the lack of people. However, before we went to the club, Jacqueline and I decided to check out a nearby Irish pub. This turned out to be a good thing, as we met a new friend who offered to take us out on the canal on his boat the next day.

After lunch on Kalverstraat (the main shopping street), Jacqueline and I eventually met up with our new friend from the night before, Menco. Menco found a festive bar for the three of us so we could watch the Germany – Argentina match, per Jacqueline’s command. This was a fun game to watch and afterwards, true to his promise, Menco took us out on a canal cruise. This was phenomenal, as I had only been on one of the really touristy canal cruises that were not as fun! This was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

We sailed around and parked the boat here and there when we were hungry or thirsty. Around dinnertime, we parked the boat next to the China town part of Amsterdam, a street called Zeedijk. I led us to my favorite Thai restaurant called The Bird. It was great, per usual. Afterwards, it was getting cold so we stopped by another bar for a hot chocolate and watched a bit of the Paraguay - Spain game.

After this, Menco dropped us off on the canal next to the street we were staying on to get cleaned up and changed before heading out to Leidisplein for the night. Leidisplein is one of the town square areas if Amsterdam, specifically known for its nightlife, as this is where five of the main clubs are. However, we took it easy and found a fun bar to go to that had a live band playing. Before heading home, Menco, Jacqueline and I made a pit stop at a bar that was an old favorite of Corey and mine in Amsterdam, a place we called “Sneaky Bar.” We dubbed the bar this name because it is a hole-in-the-wall establishment that is kind of eerie. Like I said though, it was a favorite, and so it was most necessary to make a stop there.

The rest of the week was a bit mellower, and I had some time to explore Amsterdam on my own while Jacqueline enjoyed her beauty sleep (I refused to sleep later than 9 am). On the 4^th of July, I started the day with a walking tour. Although I know the city well, I figured it would be a good excuse to really see everything again and be reminded of some history, too! This was great and a lot of fun, especially because I made friends with the tour guide who was an Irish guy a year or two older than me. It was nice because after the tour, while I was waiting for Jacqueline, we grabbed a drink (Fanta and a coke!) in Leidisplein and chatted for a while, before he had to take off for his next tour.

Later that afternoon, Jacqueline and I went to Beatrix Park for a BBQ. Before coming to Amsterdam, I wrote to a Dutch guy I met a few times while studying here, named Frank. Frank was the Residence Advisor to one of the dorms some of the other USC kids lived in. Frank kindly invited Jacqueline and I to a BBQ on the 4^th, as his American friend was having a little red-white-and blue celebration. After the BBQ, Jacqueline, Frank, Frank’s friend and I stopped for a hot chocolate/latte before heading home. It just so happened, also, that Frank’s friend works at the Hermitage Museum (Nieuwe Herengracht 14) in Amsterdam, a museum that Mom and recommended to me as being well known in Russia. This girl promised to put tickets at the front desk for us the next day.

Lucky for us, our new friend came through with her promise and Jacqueline and I got in for free to the museum the next morning. We saw some great pieces from Picasso, Kandinsky and Matisse. Jacqueline and I spent the remainder of the day wandering the city, picnic-ing at Museumplein (the grassy area between The Van Gogh and Rijks Museum), and then finished with a nice dinner at a small café.

After dinner, Jacqueline and I decided to have a mellow night and to stop by one of the bars we used to have student parties at while I was here. This supposed mellow night turned out to be a bit more exciting, as this bar happened to be a stop on one of Amsterdam’s pub-crawls, and about seven minutes after we arrived a group of about 60 kids barged in. We felt obligated to join, since it seemed to be a matter of fate. J

Let’s see, I hope I covered all my days correctly, but here we are already on July 6, our last day. Again, Jacqueline slept in while I took off for the day to wander around. First thing, I went to FOAM, which is a photography museum I visited a few times while abroad here. They had a really nice exhibit of photos by Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin and then a smaller room with work by Simon Wald-Lasowski. I had never seen these artist’s work before, so this was a nice way to spend my morning.

After the museum, I continued to wander around and found myself in one of the town square areas called Rembrandtplein, when my phone rang. My blast from the past was emphasized even more as I talked to my friend that also studied in Amsterdam, Corey. We chatted about what I had done so far, how weird it was to be back, and how wonderful Amsterdam is! The nostalgia of the situation was very nice. I then took a stroll down to Leidisplein, where there are a lot of souvenir shops, and stocked up on my Amsterdam garb. And a jersey for the night’s quarterfinal game, Amsterdam vs. Uruguay.

While I was gone for the afternoon, Jacqueline made friends with the newest addition to our hostel room, a girl named Beatrice from Brazil. She was not meeting her friend until the next day, so we invited her out with us. The plan was to go to Museumplein and meet up with Frank and his friends to watch the game. There was going to be a huge screen set up for the viewing. Having no idea what to expect, we headed over. Unfortunately, we were unable to find Frank, but that did not stop us from having a great time. It was a little rough at first, as the whole square was packed with young folks that pushed through the crowd without minding if you were standing there, but eventually things settled down when the game started.

At halftime, a lot of the people shifted around, whether to find food, drink, or a restroom, so the three of us girls made our way toward the front, finding a place that we had a great view from. From this spot, we also made friends with the surrounding viewers, mostly because I was wearing a Holland jersey and orange lei. Apparently I looked Dutch and friendly, because people started talking to me in Dutch. Multiple times I had to awkwardly apologize and smile by saying “Sorry, uh, what?” and then they’d be surprised, and say something like “ohhh English…. They would then ask me where I was from, and let me tell you, Dutch boys are really interested in California girls. “ohhhh Caliiiiforrrniaaaa,” was usually the response I would get (and then a slew of follow-up questions). As you can guess, we made friends at the game (!). The game was really exciting, and with each of Holland’s goals madness erupted in the crowd, with people jumping up and down, screaming, and throwing their beer everywhere. This was classic. After the game we went to a nearby bar with some of our new friends, before heading home.

Click the following link to get the full effect of how Museumplein was the night of Holland’s victory (on YouTube): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOyOYUHXlaE

The next morning I slowly packed my bag, sad that it was already time to leave. We had our standard hostel breakfast: one hard-boiled egg and two pieces of bread – that’s what I call gourmet! And took off for the airport. Four hours later (train to airport, plane ride, and train from Stuttgart to Weinsberg), we were finally home, and once again, ready for a snack and then a nap!