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Amsterdam - Part 4
Written by: Meredith Daniels
Rainy days abound, sleep still awaits and a wild night is to be had
It was time to move on to 'Dam's music scene and I seemed to be in the right frame of mind to do just that. Once again, it was raining off and on, but the Amserdam Roots Festival was located at an indoor venue - the Melkweg on Lijnbaansgracht http://www.melkweg.nl and http://www.amsterdamroots.nl. For one price you can venture into the different rooms. Since we weren't familiar with any of the groups playing, we decided to just hit a few of the less crowded ones. We caught a Hungarian band who seemed to have a nice, little following as indicated by the younger people dancing and singing near the stage. We also caught some funk band where we opted for a balcony spot and the saxophonist seemed to be real popular with the crowd.
After a couple of hours and feeling like my body was wearing down from lack of sleep, a few of us just headed back toward the hotel. We walked to connecting trams and found a delicious late night snack along the way - falafel http://www.maozveg.com/"www.maozveg.com).
Day Two - Amsterdam
About half of us (the ones who hadn't been to Amsterdam before) gathered in the lobby to head out for our visit to the Anne Frank House. While I hadn't read the book since middle school, her emotional writings came back to me once inside. The house, like most Dutch residences, was, of course, narrow, but hers began to close in on me, thinking about how she was never able to leave her confined space. It is certainly a chilling experience, but one in which you must partake. I'll admit that we got special admittance as we watched a queue form around the corner, but the tour moves fairly quickly and it's definitely worth the wait.
We did grab a delicious latte (it even included a little shortbread cookie) a few doors down from the museum and the place had free internet access as well. I recommend hitting internet cafes to check your emails (you'll find many around the city), as the hotel wanted to charge 5 euro for 20 minutes. Now, I had heard there was a delicious pannekoekenhuis (pancake house, but not like American pancakes) across the street from the Anne Frank House and I did see it, but we were pressed for time as we were heading to The Hague http://www.denhaag.com for Parkpop http://www.parkpop.nl - an outdoor music festival. And, oh yes, it was beginning to rain again.
Our commuter train from Centraal Station to The Hague took about 45 minutes, and while we weren't looking forward to being at a music mudfest, we were excited to be in the city of The Hague where former world leaders sit in court waiting for their fate in one area, while diners and music lovers gather in another.
We walked around a bit and came upon some cafes where we drank more lattes and then a few of us opted for those famous Dutch fries in a cone. I went with the mayo topping (a bit heavy), but there were certainly other interesting options such as various curry toppings. The scenery was lovely as we passed by a beautiful canal, lovely gates, and homes of dignitaries. We also happened upon some market that carried jewelry, trinkets and books and was located at the center of some modern, artists' park. We stopped to take photos with monkey statues and funky motor scooters.
As the rain was off for the moment, we headed to Parkpop which, upon arrival, reminded me of the New Orleans Jazzfest, but on a smaller scale. There were food tents, craft tents, and of course, stages with various musical acts. There were lots of mohawks, piercings and baggy jeans (Had some of the music fans come straight from Club Tresor in Berlin?) too, and those were just the kids under ten.
Surprisingly enough, I did not have to use the bathroom after the lattes, but if I did, I would have to pay - 50 cents for one-time use and a bargain price of 2 euro for a full-day. This was not the first or last pay toilet I would encounter on our trip.
Although we didn't stay more than an hour and a half, due to the rain and mud, I did have time to track down the tent that was selling the official Parkpop tee-shirts (unlike the New Orleans Jazzfest, there was only one to choose from) and was able to get a sense of the Dutch music scene. I'm sure we would have stayed longer if it had been a bit sunnier. We were all definitely in need of a shower, some clean clothes and maybe a quick nap.
After a rainy day outdoors, it's nice to have a hot meal, especially if it's one of the best dinners you'll ever have. I had heard that Indonesian food was popular in 'Dam and after eating at Puri Mas http://www.purimas.nl, it was no surprise as to why. Aside from being affordable, we had a wide variety of delicacies to choose from as we feasted on chicken curry soup, dishes of spicy beef, string beans, pork, fried eggs, chicken satay, rice and coconut sprinkles. Mmm, mmm, mmm.
Now it was time to celebrate Marcela's birthday at a fun spot in Leidesplein called Bulldog http://www.bulldog.nl. The décor was a bit cheesy, but there was a sizeable bar, fun music, some games, computers with internet access, and it's also a coffee shop. We had some drinks, some laughs and some flirtatious encounters with American college students, but we were a little disappointed that the place was closing at midnight. Even though it was a Sunday, it was summer and we had thought Amsterdam was much about the nightlife. Maybe this was our hint to finally get some much-needed sleep.
Day 3 - our last FULL day in Amsterdam
I had thought it a bit odd that we would be having breakfast at a restaurant located on one of the tracks of Centraal Station, and once we were at Grand Cafe Restaurant, I felt as if we were about to enter the home of Lex Luthor. Inside, however, it was a roomy eatery with a rich decor. Plus, our eggs and breads were quite tasty. And, there was even a cockatoo sitting on a perch, right atop the bar.
Looking back, I should have probably taken that rescheduled bike tour with the rest of the group http://www.macbike.nl/"www.macbike.nl), but I felt I needed to soak in some of the plentiful, Dutch art history. Amsterdam is certainly a city of bicycles (as I quickly realized while dodging many along the way) and it would have been nice to commute like a local, but I opted for a museum, some souvenir shopping and a walk through the flower market.
I thought I'd have time for the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum, located right near one another, but I just went straight to the Rijks. With over 400 masterpieces, there were plenty of paintings by Jan Steen, Vermeer, and of course, Rembrandt. There was also quite a substantial collection of Delftware. I bought some souvenirs in the gift shop (they were having a good sale) and headed back towards the hotel where I'd be in walking distance of the Waterlooplein market.
It was there I was able to connect with Van Gogh by buying a shirt that featured one of my favorite paintings, the Cafe at Night. I also got some Delftware, and of course, some wooden shoes. I put the souvenirs away and then continued my self-guided tour around the area, stopping at an Albert Heijn supermarket (where you can get some genuine Dutch treats at a decent price) for some delicious yogurt. Then I ventured through the flower market. I don't know the slightest thing about flowers, and expected to be overcome by tulips, but there were plenty of lush, colorful plants I had never seen before. It would have also been a good place to grab some trinkets as there were plenty of souvenir shops within the market and along the outskirts.
So, I soaked in the art culture during the day and it was now time to soak in the nightly sex culture I had heard so much about. Surreal is the most descriptive word I can think of when referring to the Red Light District. It's like Disney World for horny, male tourists. The funnier part of it all is that the blocks of body-sized windows with red neon and scantily dressed young, pretty women are not seedy like the area around the Port Authority in Manhattan, where you can also find hookers and peep shows and "toy shops." They're clean, and there's a canal and views of some of Amsterdam's oldest buildings.
And yes, tripmates Jen, Marcela, Robin and I spent a few euros and shared booths to watch bored couples have sex on a people-sized lazy susan. And yes, we ventured into a toy shop and picked up various packaged vibrators and other items as we watched a group of Japanese tourists lay down almost 300 euro for about a dozen or so porn flicks. And yes, the only male of the group, Robin, did inquire as to what the "ladies of the night" had to offer (basically anything that could be accomplished in 20 minutes and would cost you 50 euro). It was our last wild night in Amsterdam and it had to be done.
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