Amsterdam May 2nd - May 5th
On the first May long weekend, Duncan and I went to Amsterdam.
We headed into Amsterdam on Friday night after work, it was a short flight, we took only hand luggage and with online booking it was quite a painless commute.
Once at the airport we had to negotiate the public transport system. I think that if you were catching the train right into the central station it probably would be a lot more tourist friendly, but we were not. We were going to stay with Ludmilla and David (couchsurfing, http://www.couchsurfing.com/) who had given us instructions of how to get to their place but the signage off the major routes was not as clear. And at one point we spent 20 minutes trying to get a ticket machine to work only to find when it didn't that we could get tickets on the train!
So sometime late that evening we me Ludmilla and David and they made us very welcome and lucky for us, had a spare room and a double bed to stay in instead of just a couch woohoo.
On Saturday morning we headed out to explore amsterdam. The plan was to do this on bikes, but it seemed like this was not to be. The weekend that we were there was only a couple of days after Queens Day (a huge Dutch holiday), it was a long weekend and it was the first hot weekend that this year had really seen, so it seemed everybody had the same idea that we did and there were no bikes.
Instead we made our way to the Reijk Museum on the tram. Unfortunately the Reijk Museum is under renovation, however we found a silver lining in this cloud. Instead of getting lost in rooms and rooms of art and getting so inundated you don't really know what you are supposed to be taking notice of; only the masterpieces were on display! Brilliant! Dollshouses, Rembrant, Avercamp, Vermeer and Steen.
From the museum we made our way by tram to central station and took a cruise boat around the canals. It was a warm sunny afternoon and so relaxing listening to the descriptions of the area. It is true that Amsterdam does not have any enormous old buildings to write home about but the canal side architecture is beautiful, especially along Gentleman's canal (part of the Southern Canal Belt). In the old days tax was calculated on width of the front of the property which is the reason why there are so many narrow long houses.
After our canal trip we stopped for lunch funnily enough by another bike rental shop. We asked for bikes and still they had nothing, but by the time we had lunch they had two available.
So on top of our yellow bikes we went to Vondel Park. A very pretty park it was choccas with people enjoying the fair weather. The other thing we really noticed here for the first time was the frequent smell of pot. Apparently in the 60s and 70s Vondelpark was turned into an overnight Dormitory for all of the hippies that weren't able to find accommodation. Although you are no longer sleep in the park you can still get stoned (as with all of Amsterdam). We would be walking along I would smell it and think 'ummah someone's naughty' and then remember that actually it's allowed.
After Vondelpark we followed the tram tracks back to Ludmilla and David's via the supermarket for dinner supplies. Following dinner and entertainment that evening (courtesy of David and his guitar) I went to bed with a very sore bum!!!!! It has been a long time since I have done that much cycling.....
Duncan and I got up for an early start in the morning. The idea was to get to the Anne Frankhuis early, before the doors open to avoid the inevitably humungous queues. This of course was good in theory, and began well, right up to the time that i got us a teeny weeny bit lost.... :). Luckily for us the roads are completly bike friendly, so much so that in most instances bikes have the right of way, and if car/pedestrian hit a bike, it is never the bikes fault. The result of this is you feel much safer cycling in Amsterdam than you do in London or Perth for that matter. So we took the scenic route into Central and ended up being there well after the doors open, and being well back in the line. It was worth the wait. If you have read the book you will be familiar with the fact that Anne and her family and another family were hidden in the attic of a warehouse for several years during the war, supported by non Jewish friends, until they were given up (never found out by who). Anne and her mother and sister died in concentration camps. When her father got out and went home, the Nazi's had removed all their furniture but not the decorations on the wall, and a friend had saved Anne's diary. Mr Frank vowed the rooms were never to be furnished again, so now they stand empty but displays cases show how it looked and include correspondance and artifacts. It was a really interesting exhibit, including video interveiws with the people that helped them and supplied them with information and food for the time.
We circled round the Westerkerk where Rembrant who then broke was buried in an unmarked paupers grave.
After that sombre start to the morning we head to Spui, not pronounced like we said 'spoo-ee' but 'spow'. Here the aspiring resident artists were displaying their wares. There was as with all art markets some incredible pieces, a couple that had us reaching for our wallets, there were also some other pieces that had us putting our wallets away. To get there we had to cycle past one of the oldest brown cafes in Amsterdam. To be a brown cafe means it has been selling beer for over 400 years!!! They can apparently have sand/sawdust on the floor, but we didn't get to find out because it wasn't open that early on so no beer for us!
On one side of the market square there was a cigar store. Who would have thought that a cigar store could be so interesting. There were all different rooms especially for the different cigars that were temperature and humidity controlled, then of course there were all the different cigar boxes and pipes and tobacco... no, I am not being facecious (?sp) it actually was quite interesting.
A couple of restaurants that were recommended for lunch were closed so we headed North to Jaardin, this is now the arty area with lots of cafes, after walking through the streets we found a little cafe on the canal where we had bread and cheese and tappenade and wine and beer. Every dutch man who owned a boat was out picnicing on the canals with their dog and their music playing, so it was fun just to watch the world go by.
We spent the late afternoon in Oudekerk, which is the oldest church in Amsterdam, but isn't really used as a church anymore. We went and saw the World Press Photography exhibit which was very good, and while we were there the choir and pipe organ were warming up for the evenings concert so that was lovely too. The strangest things about Oudekerk is it is right smack in the middle of the redlight district, so after confessing your sins in the church you can step out side and sample the ladies in the windows.... or vice versa i suppose.
We had a wander through the redlight district, but Duncan did not find anything he liked... :)
I found the whole notion of window shopping for women quite amusing, there certainly was someone there for every taste though :) (including granny undies and sports bras urgh)
Ludmilla and David took us on a nice bike ride on the way home and then cooked us a lovely dinner that evening, I tell you though after being on a bike for almost 12 hours my bottom was in serious trouble; ha ha
We were shattered that night, absolutely shattered!!! we briefly considered riding back to the centre for night time photos but that thought lasted only as long as our eyes were open, which was not long at all.
On Monday morning it was back on the bikes much to the alarm of my behind. We went up to an antiques market and had some yummy apple pie for morning tea. After that we had to return our bikes and grab our bags and head the the airport.
We were waaay early for our flight but this was for good reason; we jumped in a shuttle bus and went to the Keukenhof (http://www.keukenhof.nl/nm/english.html) one of the world's biggest flower gardens, and luckily for us it was in full bloom - absolutely beautiful. The weather continued to impress, and with the music, the icecream and the general feeling of happiness throughout the garden it was like being at some sort of floral disneyland :)
And so concluded our weekend away. We had an uneventful trip back, coincidentally met Vic and Grant at the train station on their way back from Bergen, Norway where they had spent the weekend with Belinda and Gavin.
Stay tuned ;)
We headed into Amsterdam on Friday night after work, it was a short flight, we took only hand luggage and with online booking it was quite a painless commute.
Once at the airport we had to negotiate the public transport system. I think that if you were catching the train right into the central station it probably would be a lot more tourist friendly, but we were not. We were going to stay with Ludmilla and David (couchsurfing, http://www.couchsurfing.com/) who had given us instructions of how to get to their place but the signage off the major routes was not as clear. And at one point we spent 20 minutes trying to get a ticket machine to work only to find when it didn't that we could get tickets on the train!
So sometime late that evening we me Ludmilla and David and they made us very welcome and lucky for us, had a spare room and a double bed to stay in instead of just a couch woohoo.
On Saturday morning we headed out to explore amsterdam. The plan was to do this on bikes, but it seemed like this was not to be. The weekend that we were there was only a couple of days after Queens Day (a huge Dutch holiday), it was a long weekend and it was the first hot weekend that this year had really seen, so it seemed everybody had the same idea that we did and there were no bikes.
Instead we made our way to the Reijk Museum on the tram. Unfortunately the Reijk Museum is under renovation, however we found a silver lining in this cloud. Instead of getting lost in rooms and rooms of art and getting so inundated you don't really know what you are supposed to be taking notice of; only the masterpieces were on display! Brilliant! Dollshouses, Rembrant, Avercamp, Vermeer and Steen.
From the museum we made our way by tram to central station and took a cruise boat around the canals. It was a warm sunny afternoon and so relaxing listening to the descriptions of the area. It is true that Amsterdam does not have any enormous old buildings to write home about but the canal side architecture is beautiful, especially along Gentleman's canal (part of the Southern Canal Belt). In the old days tax was calculated on width of the front of the property which is the reason why there are so many narrow long houses.
After our canal trip we stopped for lunch funnily enough by another bike rental shop. We asked for bikes and still they had nothing, but by the time we had lunch they had two available.
So on top of our yellow bikes we went to Vondel Park. A very pretty park it was choccas with people enjoying the fair weather. The other thing we really noticed here for the first time was the frequent smell of pot. Apparently in the 60s and 70s Vondelpark was turned into an overnight Dormitory for all of the hippies that weren't able to find accommodation. Although you are no longer sleep in the park you can still get stoned (as with all of Amsterdam). We would be walking along I would smell it and think 'ummah someone's naughty' and then remember that actually it's allowed.
After Vondelpark we followed the tram tracks back to Ludmilla and David's via the supermarket for dinner supplies. Following dinner and entertainment that evening (courtesy of David and his guitar) I went to bed with a very sore bum!!!!! It has been a long time since I have done that much cycling.....
Duncan and I got up for an early start in the morning. The idea was to get to the Anne Frankhuis early, before the doors open to avoid the inevitably humungous queues. This of course was good in theory, and began well, right up to the time that i got us a teeny weeny bit lost.... :). Luckily for us the roads are completly bike friendly, so much so that in most instances bikes have the right of way, and if car/pedestrian hit a bike, it is never the bikes fault. The result of this is you feel much safer cycling in Amsterdam than you do in London or Perth for that matter. So we took the scenic route into Central and ended up being there well after the doors open, and being well back in the line. It was worth the wait. If you have read the book you will be familiar with the fact that Anne and her family and another family were hidden in the attic of a warehouse for several years during the war, supported by non Jewish friends, until they were given up (never found out by who). Anne and her mother and sister died in concentration camps. When her father got out and went home, the Nazi's had removed all their furniture but not the decorations on the wall, and a friend had saved Anne's diary. Mr Frank vowed the rooms were never to be furnished again, so now they stand empty but displays cases show how it looked and include correspondance and artifacts. It was a really interesting exhibit, including video interveiws with the people that helped them and supplied them with information and food for the time.
We circled round the Westerkerk where Rembrant who then broke was buried in an unmarked paupers grave.
After that sombre start to the morning we head to Spui, not pronounced like we said 'spoo-ee' but 'spow'. Here the aspiring resident artists were displaying their wares. There was as with all art markets some incredible pieces, a couple that had us reaching for our wallets, there were also some other pieces that had us putting our wallets away. To get there we had to cycle past one of the oldest brown cafes in Amsterdam. To be a brown cafe means it has been selling beer for over 400 years!!! They can apparently have sand/sawdust on the floor, but we didn't get to find out because it wasn't open that early on so no beer for us!
On one side of the market square there was a cigar store. Who would have thought that a cigar store could be so interesting. There were all different rooms especially for the different cigars that were temperature and humidity controlled, then of course there were all the different cigar boxes and pipes and tobacco... no, I am not being facecious (?sp) it actually was quite interesting.
A couple of restaurants that were recommended for lunch were closed so we headed North to Jaardin, this is now the arty area with lots of cafes, after walking through the streets we found a little cafe on the canal where we had bread and cheese and tappenade and wine and beer. Every dutch man who owned a boat was out picnicing on the canals with their dog and their music playing, so it was fun just to watch the world go by.
We spent the late afternoon in Oudekerk, which is the oldest church in Amsterdam, but isn't really used as a church anymore. We went and saw the World Press Photography exhibit which was very good, and while we were there the choir and pipe organ were warming up for the evenings concert so that was lovely too. The strangest things about Oudekerk is it is right smack in the middle of the redlight district, so after confessing your sins in the church you can step out side and sample the ladies in the windows.... or vice versa i suppose.
We had a wander through the redlight district, but Duncan did not find anything he liked... :)
I found the whole notion of window shopping for women quite amusing, there certainly was someone there for every taste though :) (including granny undies and sports bras urgh)
Ludmilla and David took us on a nice bike ride on the way home and then cooked us a lovely dinner that evening, I tell you though after being on a bike for almost 12 hours my bottom was in serious trouble; ha ha
We were shattered that night, absolutely shattered!!! we briefly considered riding back to the centre for night time photos but that thought lasted only as long as our eyes were open, which was not long at all.
On Monday morning it was back on the bikes much to the alarm of my behind. We went up to an antiques market and had some yummy apple pie for morning tea. After that we had to return our bikes and grab our bags and head the the airport.
We were waaay early for our flight but this was for good reason; we jumped in a shuttle bus and went to the Keukenhof (http://www.keukenhof.nl/nm/english.html) one of the world's biggest flower gardens, and luckily for us it was in full bloom - absolutely beautiful. The weather continued to impress, and with the music, the icecream and the general feeling of happiness throughout the garden it was like being at some sort of floral disneyland :)
And so concluded our weekend away. We had an uneventful trip back, coincidentally met Vic and Grant at the train station on their way back from Bergen, Norway where they had spent the weekend with Belinda and Gavin.
Stay tuned ;)
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