Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Amsterdam

This past weekend I traveled to Amsterdam.

This Utopian city is located in the Netherlands (aka Holland aka Land of the DUTCH). And no, not everyone in this country looks/sounds/acts like Goldmember from Austin Powers.  Most people, yes, but certainly not all.  Reference the video to get a feel for my peers over the past 72 hours.

Amsterdam has always been high on my list of places to see during my time in Europe, and when I caught wind of a certain Dispatch concert, my travel plans were immediately confirmed.  I've subconsciously converted Erin into a Dispatch fan, and so she made the trek along with me.

Friday - Travel and Day One

We left Galway at 8:15 on a CityLink Bus that dropped us off at the Dublin Airport around 11.  After getting our boarding passes stamped (Zipper), we waited at the gate for our 1:15 flight.

This was my first experience flying with Ryanair.  I have heard some absolute horror stories in my day regarding this airline.  And so I expected a Ryanair flight to be more like this video:




Not at all.  I was pleasantly surprised by the folks at Ryanair  They got us there and back in one piece, the most basic criteria for any reputable airline.  I wasn't weaseled into any hidden fees or charges (that I know of), and most importantly the flights were on time.  I also managed to take the world's most overdone, cliche study abroad picture - rounding out the positive experience.

After landing at the Eindhoven Airport, we took an airexpressbus to Amsterdam Centraal Station, the main train station in the center of the city.  The building, it's niiiice.


Google Maps navigated us through this foreign concrete jungle to our hotel, which was on the complete opposite side of the city. Initial reactions of Amsterdam:



I was in absolute awe from the moment I stepped off the bus.  The city is gorgeous.  People on bikes, everywhere.  So many canals and bridges, all lit up in the night.  As a whole Amsterdam feels very old and rich in history, but there are also a few squares that have larger buildings and a lot more activity, giving Amsterdam that real city feel if you're looking for it.  The perfect combination.

We stayed at the ITC Hotel.  A typical hostel in Amsterdam cost around 20-25 euro per night.  This hotel was 25 a night, and was so much cleaner/safer/more civilized than any hostel we could find in the city.  The reviews of the hotel were 50/50, some saying it was great and others warning travelers to AVOID AT ALL COSTS.  Erin emailed the hotel and requested a room in the main building, and thankfully our wish was granted.  The room was small, but it was clean and had a canal view.  Not to mention that it was in a great location.



After settling in we decided to explore the city.  We ate dinner at an Argentinian Steakhouse.  I probably saw 50 such restaurants in Amsterdam, they are apparently super popular and for 10 euro, it was an awesome meal.  Naturally, our first stop was the Red Light District.  We were both curious and had to see what all the fuss was about.  I feel like most sane people check out the Red Light District just to say they were there, but try and leave as soon as possible.  Erin and I made an entire night of it, absolutely overstaying our visit.  We stopped at a few of the sketchiest bars that the city has to offer and yes, saw some lovely prostitutes.  It was absurd; half naked girls on display in the windows like objects.  Sad to an extent, but I guess Amsterdam is considered the "major leagues" of prostitution, so these girls succeeded in some respects.  Way to go ladies!  Best part of the RLD?  So many hilarious European bachelor parties, all of which had made t-shirts for the occasion. Quite a scene.  Unfortunately, you aren't supposed to take pictures so I'll leave it up to your imagination.  Run wild with it...

Saturday - Dispatch Concert




We woke up on Saturday and sampled the local fare, Dutch pancakes.  We ate breakfast at Pancakes! Amsterdam, and I ordered mine with with apples, nuts and ice cream.  A joke how good they were.  Earlier in the morning we rented bikes (an absolute necessity in Amsterdam) and so we rode around the city, eventually coming the The Blue Boat Company, where we bought tickets for a canal cruise. The canal cruise was a good way to see some parts of the city that one might not otherwise see but honestly I could have lived without it.  It felt very touristy and um, Asian.  Nonetheless it was a beautiful ride and we were inside the boat during the only rain that day, so it worked out. Here are a few pictures from the day, hopefully capturing the beauty of the city.  (I edited these pictures ever so slightly using a Google app called SnapSeed, definitely check it out!)




After resting up in the hotel and grabbing a slice of pizza for dinner, we were ready for the MAIN EVENT, the Dispatch concert.  The show was at the Melkweg (Milky Way) and the doors opened at 8pm.  We got there at around 8:45, knowing Dispatch wouldn't come on until late.  The place may have housed 200 people max, easily the most intimate concert venue I've been in.  We caught the end of the opening act, a South African band called the Kongos, and before we knew it Dispatch was coming on the stage. I've turned into a huge fan of these guys over the past few years, thanks to you Matthew Mahoney.  I've seen them in concert a couple times, but never like THIS:

Our seats (spot really, there were no actual seats) were unbelievable, as you can see.  The concert was definitely a highlight of the trip, and Dispatch put on an amazing show.  I will attach a few videos for your viewing pleasure, hopefully giving you an idea of how cool and wild the atmosphere was.





They were so good.  My face was melted. My mind was blown. My soul was healed.  On and on...

After the concert we stopped into a few different bars.  My favorite bar from Amsterdam was called the Surprise Bar, and that it was.  It didn't look like much from the outside but inside was out of this world.  A team of Macho Dutch bartenders served as DJ's/the party hype crew.  Again, I'll let your imagination take over from here... 

Super Bowl Sunday Funday

Since we were in Amsterdam on the Super BOWL, we spent the entire day on Sunday smoking marijuana and out of a bowl.

Monday

Monday was our last day in the city, and so we decided to. Wait.  Mom, I am joking.  Here's what we really did on Sunday:

On Sunday morning the first thing we did was visit the Anne Frank House.  There was sort of a holy, sacred feel throughout the entire space.  It was a stark reminder that although Amsterdam is such a beautiful city, it too has a very dark past.  The museum takes you through a tour of the actual house where Anne Frank and seven other Jews lived in hiding from The Nazis for over two years.  I could never imagine staying indoors, with the blinds closed, for two entire years - especially not after visiting the 'huis'.  You actually get to go through the bookcase that covered the entrance and walk through the 'Secret Annex' where they lived.  Pictures were not allowed, but I wish I could share some here with you all.  The museum touched me deeply.  I've studied WWII all throughout my schooling but to actually be there, in the same room where Anne Frank lived and wrote made it more real than a textbook or a movie ever could.  If you ever travel to Amsterdam, stand on the line all day long if you have to because the Anne Frank House is so incredibly worth the wait.

After this we took a train out to Zaanse Schans, a small town that is about a 30 minute train ride from Amsterdam.  Leaving the comforts of the city, shattering study abroad norms.  Blazing new trails! We had seen this place in a few guide books, and decided it would be neat to check out the country, the real Netherlands.  I had no idea what to expect, but this turned out to be the most delightful surprise of the trip.  We got off the train and followed some signs to "Zaanse Schans," crossed over a bridge and then SAW IT.  My reaction, more or less:
 yes-awesome-oldschool

This is approximately what I saw:






Windmills.  Clog Shops.  Cheese shops.  The entire town literally smelled like chocolate.  The most Dutch place you could ever imagine.  It was as if we were walking through the "Holland" part at Epcot, only this was the real thing.  Zaanse Schans was such a shock, and I never expected to see any of this during my trip to Amsterdam.

After an afternoon in the fairy tale that was ZS, we took a train back to Amsterdam, grabbed a bite to eat, and looked for a place to watch the SuperBowl.  Not gonna lie, I definitely missed an American Super Bowl.  A nice flatscreen TV and 4 hours of eating wings/dips/desserts/watching funny commercials....dream. After another long day, a quiet Super Bowl in the hotel was just fine.  The reception was shaky and by the time the fourth quarter started it was already 4am in Amsterdam, so yes I missed it. Go ahead, judge my masculinity all you want.  It's allowed.  Definitely not one of my finer moments.  Can't say I didn't predict the outcome of the game in an earlier blog post, though. Turned a clever profit with my Irish bookie.

Monday- Back to Galway

Monday morning we checked out of the beloved ITC Hotel and went to a famous outdoor market in Amsterdam.  It's about three blocks of shady vendors selling everything from clothes to bootleg rolexes to fries covered in mayonnaise to raw herring to waffles.  We grabbed breakfast and then went to Museumplein to take the obligatory picture in front of the I Amsterdam sign.  I didn't actually go inside any of the museums during my time in Amsterdam, but they're pricey and pshh culture is overrated, ja?


After the sign we grabbed some lunch at this place called La Place which had every type of food imaginable and then boarded a bus back to the Eindhoven airport. Monday was a long day of traveling (4pm-1am) but it was absolutely worth it for such a stellar weekend.  February, usually my least favorite month of the year, is off to a great start.  I have no regrets from Amsterdam and got to see and do everything that I wanted.  Traveling with Erin was such fun and also so easy, it's amazing how much more you can accomplish with just two people.  Amazing Race may be in our future.  

If anybody remains and actually read that whole thing, I applaud you.  Thanks for reading.  So I'm back in Galway now and so begins the waiting game until my Mom, Dad, and Scott visit me here in Ireland. Can't wait. So it was truly a weekend for the ages, and the highlight of my time abroad thus far.  Thanks for reading, and here's your song:




If you haven't already, do yourself a favor and see Django.  Until next time. Miss you all!

2 comments:

  1. Jeff,

    Glad you got to see some 'spatch while abroad. Seeing music acts in Europe is always awesome since you get to see them in smaller venues/get the best setlists out of any US shows. Very Jealous. Amsterdam is an awesome place and it seems like you did it up pretty well.

    RyanAir is great but NEVER FLY EASYJET!! If you fly Easyjet just be prepared for your flight to be cancelled because the easyjet crews are *suprise suprise* on strike yet again.

    Keep up the blogging

    -Ryan

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  2. Almost lost my drink when you said you smoked marijuana from a bowl all sunday hahahahahahah

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