“Hallo & tot ziens” Netherlands

We had an easy time getting out of Edinburgh, journalling on the train platform and then boarding our train on time. We had another pleasant ride through the immaculately cared for scenery, which I believe I will miss. A couple of hours on the train, and a couple more waiting in Newcastle, then we caught a bus to the ferry terminal to check in.

Once aboard our ship we tucked our packs into the comfortable cabin, and went out on deck to wave a proverbial hanky as we cast off and left the land behind. Back inside, we checked out the facilities on board.

It was my first time on a cruise ship, humble though this one was when compared to some of the floating cities I’ve heard about from Christina. This one had it’s complement of indoor and outdoor bars, cafe, several restaurants, cinema, lounge, and shops. We hung out in the cafe and journalled for a while, then went back to our cabin for a rest and to change for dinner. I wore my best jeans and black sweater (as seen in nearly every picture of myself in England, Ireland, and Scotland). We went to the Seven Seas, our onboard “fine dining” option, and somewhat overindulged in the buffet.

After dinner we went to the lounge, and had a drink while absorbing the atmosphere. The entertainment began with the Cruise Director doing some vocal numbers, which were much better received by the audience than I had expected, and within a couple of tunes the dance floor was packed with Dutch. By the time the next act came up the crowd was thoroughly lubricated. We stayed until nearly midnight, listening to the classic tunes and watching the (mostly quite terrible) dancing.

We had a great sleep, and woke just before the anouncement of our approaching the Dutch coast sounded. We leisurely packed up our gear, and headed on deck to watch the ship come in. After it had touched we headed downstairs, grabbed our bags, and joined the queue heading towards customs. Christina was thrilled that we got a new stamp. A shuttle bus conveyed us from port to “Centraal Station”.

There we picked up a metro pass good for 48-hours, and after a tram ride and short walk (with guidance from a couple of locals who noticed that we looked a little lost) we arrived at The Crooked House. Aside from the name, our choice of accomodation was interesting for its name, which it lived up to quite well, and for its attractive price/proximity position.

We dropped our bags and headed out to check out Amsterdam. One of the first things we noticed, and had seen right from the station, was how crazy the traffic is here. In a different way than in the Philippines, or in India. In addition to the regular car streets there are lanes for bicycles and trams, and crossing the whole mess feels a little bit like the game “Frogger”. To this, add that they drive on the right side of the road, which would be normal except that we’ve become quite accustomed to looking the other way for oncoming traffic since every country we’ve visited has been the reverse.

Amsterdam is a favorite destination of people from London and Edinburgh – both very cool spots in their own right – and now that we’re here it is quite easy to see why. The whole place looks how I think Venice should (Christina insists that the real Venice is even better), with cobblestone streets, a spiderweb of canals over which bridges arch gracefully, aging buildings of stone and brick leaning well over the streets and clumsily slumping together like old friends. And an absolute plague of bicycles.

We racked up a pile of walked kilometers, despite having bought an all-access pass for the tram, and saw a huge amount of the city core. We walked through the Red Light District, which put on a good show, but wasn’t quite as debaucherous as I had expected. We saw nearly as much by accident at our Kings Cross hostel in Sydney.

Mostly we spent our time admiring the spread of tables spilling out of restaurants and fancy cafes, the canal-side estate homes of a more elegant era, and the boats parked in the moorings.

For dinner we left the more touristy areas for a neighborhood our host had previously indicated as being where the locals would likely go for dinners out.

We found a table at a tapas bar with a vast array of outdoor seating and a nice looking menu. We ordered a few items from the menu, and some drinks. One drawback to Holland seems to be the amusingly small beverage servings. The beers I ordered would have fit three to a pint glass, and while not outrageously expensive, it was enough to quench any desire I had to sit at a cafe sipping beer all afternoon, which would have been a very nice way to spend our time.  The food itself was very nicely proportioned, and quite delicious. Particularly good was the tomato soup, impressing us enough to compare it to the spectacular tomato soups we had sampled in Bali (on a previous trip). We finished the day relaxing in our room, and planning our future travels.

In the morning we skipped breakfast, and headed for Centraal Station, where we were denied the chance to purchase Eurail passes (decided on as the best transport option for our next couple of months). The system was down and they told us to return in the afternoon. We caught bus 91, bound for Zaanse Schans – known in English touristees as “where the windmills are”. The drive itself wasn’t remarkable. Even we arrived there wasn’t much to see, but the small size of the village meant that the windmills weren’t hard to find. We looked around and took pictures of the rustic scenery. A lot of pictures.

We visited the cheese shop, and were delighted to have a broad assortment of samples of their different cheese and spread products. We had a small lunch from the cheese shop deli, and spent some more time walking through the village and along its tiny canals.

Back in Amsterdam we were dropped off by our bus at Centraal again, and waited for the better part of an hour in queue then talked to a very nice old guy at the Eurail counter who set us up with the tickets we had decided on and gave us the scoop on things to look out for, mostly to do with France. He was friendly and helpful, and likely the reason we waited so long in the first place.

We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the flower market, which sold bulbs, plants, flowers, seeds of all kinds of shapes, and walked one last time through the winding streets.  Since it was our last day in Holland, we needed to pack in as much of the Amsterdam experience as possible.  We were on a mission for Pannenkoek (Dutch pancakes), relaxing in a kitchy dutch restaurant and checking out the alternative lifestyle.  We found the perfect spot, called “Pannekoekenhuis Upstairs” and we were able to enjoy a sample of a savory (ham, cheese & tomato) and a sweet (pineapple, banana, chocolate, coconut, strawberries & cream) pancake – which was all very fantastic.  We ended off the night doing it like the Europeans do, with tapas and a bottle of wine and later on visiting a Coffee Shop before heading back to the house.  Amsterdam has treated us very well and while it was only a short stop in Holland, I’m glad we visited.  Next stop, Brugge.