Enjoying the DSM Register- Thanks Mom!
We made it to Holland around 2:15, and of course I had to book us in a hotel where the shuttle doesn't run all day- you have to call for them to come get you. We kinda sat around hoping someone else in the crowd was going there and already made the call- whether that happened or not, I don't really know, but we did finally get a shuttle.
Our room was very large by European standards, and the service was just fine, minus cold showers on Saturday morning. There were even some English-speaking shows on the television. We watched Salon Takeover while we rested our weary feet... ;) Speaking of speaking English, English was the most-overheard language in the city. Truly, the only time I heard someone speaking Dutch was the front-desk clerk at the hotel, when she was on the telephone. Even in crowds of people (which was almost the whole city), English seemed to be predominately spoken.One very big minus about the hotel I chose was that it was not within reaches of the inter-city train system (which I did not realize at the time of booking). There really isn't a metro system- there are mostly street cars (trams) above-ground, which we assume is because of the sea level issue in The Netherlands. So we rode a train to town for about 20 minutes every day, which cost us 20 euro round-trip. Kinda pricey, and you can't really bop back to your hotel to take a rest and then head back into the city. Well, you could, but we didn't.
I didn't really have any plans for our first night other than to head into Amsterdam, find some food and wander around a bit. We got to Dam Square and one of the first things Ted saw:
I made a beeline straight over there! I'm used to the poffertjes at Tulip Time, and these were a different batter with LOADS more butter and sugar on top. Quite good! Honestly I can't say which is better. I guess these are authentic, though- that counts for something!
Ted enjoyed a delicious chocolate waffle- he really couldn't get enough of it!We continued to wander around Central Amsterdam. Here's a few views of the city:
It might look like a nice, sunny day in this picture but let me assure you that it was very cold and windy. Any sun seen the first afternoon was definitely the last we saw on our weekend, and the weather progressively got worse. This canal scene looks quaint in the picture, but everywhere you go you smell marijauna drifting from coffee shops, wander past window displays of XXX content, and fight crowds of people and bicycles. Central Amsterdam was really not our favorite place to be.
We also wandered through the infamous Red Light District around dinner time. The sun doesn't set in Amsterdam until 10pm this time of year, so there was no red neon glow or anything like that, but some of the...ahem....ladies...were just opening up for business. Along the street in this district all the windows have long red drapes and at a certain time the curtains are pulled back and, well, the goods are put on display. They stand in the full-length windows like mannequins and advertise their business, often beckoning to people. No pictures allowed, and it said in my travel book that if you try snapping a photo the women in the windows will come outside and destroy your camera.
For dinner we ate some Turkish grill, went to a pub for a glass of beer, and decided to walk a little bit more before heading back to the train station.
This area was much more peaceful. There were no coffee shops (coffee shops sell pot, not coffee), no throngs of people, and only the occasional bicycle zipped past us. A welcome end to what felt like a frantic day in the city. Oh, a little about the houseboats along the canal- Yes, lots of people live in them. Yes, some are hooked up to electricity. No, most of them are not hooked up to sewer utilities. Yes, thankfully they flush the canals out once a week. No, that is probably not enough!
We finally made our way back to Centraal Station, and definitely thought this picture was worth noting:
No parking garage for cars, just bikes! So, so many bikes in this country. You're liable to lose a limb if you step into the bike path at the wrong time! Most of the bikes are on their last leg, and all are very old-fashioned. Nothing resembling a Huffy from Wal-Mart. Someone told us there are 1.5 bicycles for every person in Amsterdam. Oh, and the family bikes and bikes with boxes on the front like you might see in the parade at Tulip Time are still very much in use over here. Dutch people attach their children to their bikes in just about every conceivable way, and it was not uncommon to see a couple of kids cruising along in a wooden box attached to the front of the bike that mom or dad was pedaling! There was not a street around that didn't have a bike lane or specific bike path, and it truly seemed to be the best way to get around such a city.This ends day one! More to follow.
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