In Amsterdam

There were several windmills on the way to Amsterdam. I'd watch them out the window, not fascinated but interested. I'd never seen so many before. We were a small group of teaching assistants taking a bus from Paris to the Netherlands. It was the end of October.

A cheap, 7-hour bus ride. A cheap, 6 bedroom hostel. Shortly after we arrived, it was off to the first coffee shop. Barney's. A tiny, relaxed locale where locals and tourists alike casually smoked joints. 

Next, we went to a bar. It was called Wonder Bar. The place is just over a five-minute walk from the Amsterdam Centraal Station. The fluorescent lights and bright decor belied the chill, relaxed atmosphere of the place.  

I try to make a point of eating the local cuisine when I go to a new country: I ordered a gouda cheese sandwich and bitterballen, a type of Dutch meatball that's kinda gooey inside. I washed it all down with a Heineken, of course, the national — albeit overrated — beverage of the Netherlands.

We took a stroll along the redlight district that night. For the most part, we found it uncomfortable and exploitative. Rumor is some of the employees may have been trafficked.

We wandered around the city, a city packed with tourists even on a Monday evening in October.

That might have been the night a tipsy British woman handed us out free cans of Heineken on the city streets. I took one back to the hostel, where they also had Heineiken in the vending machines. The long bus ride had warn us out. We went to bed, our minds set on what we would do the next day.    

The hostel was clean enough, and breakfast the next day was free. Nothing other than milk, cereal and slices of bread, but that did the trick. 

The next morning, we toured downtown.  There were beautiful bridges above the canals.

At times, the sky was grey overhead, but the water sparkled still. At Dam Sqaure, the picturesque town plaza, a beautiful recording of Vivaldi's "Winter" blared through the speakers. Or so I thought. 

Dam Square 

I turned around and saw a small group of string players playing with the warmth and depth of sound of an orchestra. We continued to walk thought the city streets, a city wear bikes have more say than cars. Keep an eye out for them, they're everywhere and you could get hit. 

That day was the culinary highlight of the trip for me. We went to the Happy Pig Pancake Shop, where we ordered mini puff pancakes filled with gouda cheese and fig jelly. I enthusiastically recommend this place anytime Amsterdam is brought up.

If that was the highlight, the low point would be that we didn't get to visit the Anne Frank house. A warning: book months in advance...


Later that night, we went on one of the water boat criuses. I recommend doing it during the day so you can actually see the sights. I struggled in vain to snap a few photos through a murky window.

boat "sightseeing" tour 

And now the last highlight I'll mention is the Van Gogh museum.

Do visit it, if you every find yourself in Holland. It has a very nice collection of his paintings, if that's your kind of thing.

If your kind of thing is wandering around buildings looking at art, taking a moment to discover something different, then deciding it's beautiful and unique and there's nothing like it.

As my teaching assignment comes to an end, my time in Europe could be described a bit like that sentence above. I've seen amazing places, met a few special people, and enjoyed the culinary delights of the region on the days I decided to treat myself to something other than rushed bites of poor girl pasta.

I made Europe my museum. I wandered around a bit, discovered a few things here and there. And it was all very beautiful. And very unique.

There's nothing like it.