After a heavy
first morning in Amsterdam, I decided it was time for a lark. With that in
mind, I started walking toward Amsterdam’s infamous ‘Red Light District,’ by
way of Nieuwe Spiegetstraat. Of course, I became hopelessly lost en route (not
that I minded), and I think the 2km (+/-) walk turned into a much greater
distance.
Eventually, I
found myself standing in Dam Square, which serves as the city center for all intents and purposes. On the western
end of the square stands the Royal Palace, flanked by the Nieuwe Kerk
(‘New Church,’ a name given despite its erect in the 15th Century) and another infernal Madame
Tussaud’s Wax Museum (*shudder*). Across from the palace is the National Monument, which memorializes the victims of the Second World War.
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| In Dam Square, with the Royal Palace behind me. |
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| The Royal Palace (left) and Nieuwe Kerk (right) |
After spending a
few minutes in Dam Square (and realizing that I couldn’t get in to tour the
Royal Palace), I confess to wasting some time walking around Magna Plaza, which stands just behind the palace. Basically a shopping mall, I didn’t bother
to go into most of the shops—but the building itself was so gorgeous that I
couldn’t help ducking in for a bit.
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| Best mall facade ever! |
From there, I
continued up Damrak, where my eye was caught by one of those tourist traps
offering canal cruises. I had decided ahead of time, at the advice of my
Stateside friend AR, to take one of these cruises, but I hadn’t actually
arranged one yet. Thinking now was as good a time as any, I ducked in and did
just that. (Ironically, the boat I was eventually to take was called the Anne Frank.)
While awaiting
departure near Amsterdam Centraal, I stopped off for lunch. With money limited
(and since I wasn’t desperately hungry yet), I indulged in another yummy sleeve
of Vlaamse Frites. My goodness, I
love these things!
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| LUNCH! |
Eventually, it
was time to depart. Though our captain-guide was very nice, and the sights
lovely, I confess to finding myself a bit bored. The pre-recorded narration was
not as informative as I would have liked, and the sun passing through the
glass-covering created a greenhouse effect that, when combined with the gentle
rocking of the boat, practically lulled me to sleep.
Nonetheless, I’m glad that
I did it, as I did learn some new interesting facts (e.g., the purpose and
intent behind the different gables, and how they’re still used today as a means
of moving furniture)!
A little over an
hour later, our boat docked near the Amsterdam public library. Now, I know this
will sound strange to some, but I did go walk around the library for a bit. I
had been advised that you could climb to the top for free, and that it offered
an amazing view of the city, so I wanted to do that (and I did).
Upon entering,
however, I also discovered that it was one of the most stunning libraries I’ve
ever been in! To be sure, nothing has yet topped the beauty of Dublin’s Trinity College’s library. But, whereas Trinity’s collection and styling is clearly
traditional and rooted in history, Amsterdam’s is incredibly modern and
sleek—it’s like Ikea came in and built all eight floors for them! In fact, it was so striking
that I went back the next day, too.
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| The Ikea Library: 'Do you feel bad for these books? It is because you are crazy.' |
By now, it was
getting late and I figured I should start walking back toward the hostel.
(Though I may have made one brief stopover in a coffeeshop on Warmoesstraat.)
More than once, I got completely lost while trying to find my way back—much as
in Paris, I found that I would be walking in one direction, thinking I was
headed south (for instance), only to discover that I was headed northwest (or
some other completely wrong way). It also didn’t help that none of the maps I
had access to included the smaller streets, which just added to the confusion.
Eventually, I
found myself back at the hostel. It was around 5 or 6 PM, my feet were killing
me, and I knew I had another full day of walking the next. So, I gave in to
temptation and took a short nap (with my poor dogs elevated)…except, that short
nap turned into a two-hour nap, and the only reason I woke up then was because
someone else came into the room.
Regardless, I
felt slightly refreshed, and so I got up and headed back out. Still not
completely starved (but knowing that I would be famished later if I didn’t
stop), I bought another serving of Vlaamse
Frites—and I wonder why I’m fat?—which I ate while walking around my
immediate neighborhood some more.
At one point, I
stumbled upon Reguliersdwarsstraat, which was festooned with numerous rainbow
flags. Realizing that this was probably one of Amsterdam’s gay enclaves, I
decided to walk down the street. I was hoping for some gay-centric shopping
(e.g., bookstores and the like), but this particular street was basically just
a bunch of bars.
I did stop by one—a tiny, dead place (it was a Monday night) called Taboo—for two
drinks. The first, my typical Vodka and cranberry. The second, a Heineken,
which Nic insisted I try while in Amsterdam because, supposedly, it tastes
different. (In case you’re wondering, it still tasted like watered-down piss to
me—if I have to drink beer, I’ll stick with Guinness, thank you very much!)
And with that (it
was around 10 PM by now), I headed back to my hostel and caught some
much-needed sleep in preparation for the next day…which I’ll discuss later. :)
Until next time…
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