A mixed bag of emotions in Amstrerdam

We all know of the infamous Amsterdam. Green coffee shops, the red light district, picturesque canals and bikes all over the place but there is so much more to this place.

First things first, there so many more bikes than you could ever imagine. I thought ‘yeah Amsterdam is known for having a lot of bikes’. NO! Amsterdam has more than just a lot. Picture a shitload of bikes and then multiply that by 1000 and you’re getting close. And with all these bikes, come the bike gangs. Hordes of cyclists riding about like they own not only the bike lanes but all streets and footpaths as well.

I never thought I could fear cyclists but here I was standing in what I thought was a harmless footpath admiring the great Vondelpark when I had an entire bikie gang wiz past me from all directions (I swear one of them pinched my bum)! I quickly learnt to always be on the lookout for bikes. But anytime I had a lapse in concentration I was sure to find myself close to crapping my dacks because they were dinging their bells while zipping past. I still get twitches whenever I hear a bike bell. Maybe I should have just hired a bike but I seriously haven’t been on one in years. This would have been worse than being a pedestrian. Ahh just writing this brings back the bad memories.

But once you move past the fear of bikes (who knows, maybe it’s only me being melodramatic – it wouldn’t be the first time) you’ll come to love all the great quirks Amsterdam has on offer.

Forget the Leaning Tower of Pisa (it’s pretty shit anyway. I’ve been twice and was underwhelmed both times). Just about every terrace house in the city centre is leaning one way or another. Some seem as if there diving into the canal in front of them while others are nudging their neighbours (even the architecture seems to show the houses screaming out in fear because of this – look at the picture on the left). Still, it’s quite fun trying to find the house which leans the most. Give it a go.

But prepare yourself for expensive living costs. We had just come from Prague where we had quickly grown accustom to super cheap… well everything. Fortunately for me, Amsterdam happened to be the place where my Europe holiday intersected with that of my parents. Being the super awesome people they are, they paid for so much of my food and booze while I was here. Those of you who don’t happen to have your parents around paying for stuff, look out for bargains down little alley ways away from the touristy spots (though this is something that remains true for just about every city). The food here is great. I struggled to find any ‘traditional Dutch food’ but had some great Indian, Thai and Chinese eats.

After food experiences, came the art and culture hit. Mum and Dad paid for my Vincent Van Gogh Museum ticket and we spent a great morning looking at his famous artwork. His use of colour just gets me. I could have stayed here for the entire day. This museum was my favourite as I loved each and every one of his impressionist paintings. Even his biography, the interactive dimensions of the museum and the souvenir shop got me excited. I bought a Van Gogh mug. I don’t need a Van Gogh mug. What am I going to do with it in London? OK I’ll drink tea out of it, but still. Silly me. I was just too excited to not get anything.

I started to get a bit ill around the third day in Amsterdam The next day but still got to see the Anne Frank House and the Red Light District at night (with hindsight, combining the two was probably a bit wrong). We pre-booked tickets for this as well so skipped the crazy long queues and went straight into the exhibit. While this was great, going in so quickly meant that I had little time to prepare myself for what I was going to experience.

Walking through the very hallways and rooms of the building where the three families hid from the Nazis made me go all quiet. Hearing their stories, reading her surprisingly insightful and honest writing was extremely confronting. I was close to tears on several occasions but somehow managed to keep myself together. Seeing her name on the concentration camp list and then on the deceased list made me stop in my place. What was worse is that there were four Aaron Franks above her name on the deceased list and this page, full of at least 100 other names, only represented a tiny fraction of all victims. If I can only just keep myself together while I’m here, how am I going to deal with the concentration camps in Germany? I guess that’s future Andy’s problem.

All three of us left in an understandably sombre mood. We didn’t quite make eye contact with each other and little talking took place as we made our way to the Red Light District at night.

Being in this state of mind, I only felt sorry for the women selling themselves through the windows. I thought of the sex trafficking trade which takes place in these streets and how some of these women looked like mothers. But the strangers around me were loving life and thought this was all hilarious. I guess I had somewhat of the same reaction when I accidentally stumbled across the Red Light District the day before and lost my shit due to the general surprise. Making eye contact with these women was just awkward for me. Maybe I should have worn an ‘I am gay’ T-shirt so they didn’t waste their time ushering me over. Maybe I would have enjoyed this more if I wasn’t so sad. Oh well.

Unfortunately, I got tonsillitis during my time here and spent a day or two laying in my hostel dorm by myself sleeping and taking antibiotics. It sucked to miss out on so much time in Amsterdam and it was even worse when I had to pay 55 euros to go to the doctor but at least my mumma and papa were around to take care of me. It just so happened that as I was on my way to the pharmacist, I walked past my parents having lunch in a café. They bought me some chicken soup and we talked about life and shit for quite some time. I’m so lucky to have them around during this part of my holiday. It is the last time I’ll be getting this love and affection from them for about a year as I won’t see them while I’m living in London. Must get all the love I can now!

Being sick meant I missed out on going to a coffee shop and grabbing a brownie (none of my fellow travellers wanted to do this so not getting high on my own may have been a blessing). I also couldn’t make our cycling tour around the city (this was probably another blessing as my bike fear was real). I didn’t even get the obligatory canal and IAMsterdam photo (a small part of my selfie loving self died because of this). But these were the only main things I missed out on.

So my stay in Amsterdam was full of mixed emotions. I loved parts and was in a pretty crappy state of mind for quite a bit of it too. But the best/worst part had to be when my parents took me on a river cruise dinner on my last night there. We had a great time chatting, eating and making fun of each other but it was also the last time I’d see them for at least a year. Hugging them both goodbye wasn’t an easy thing to do. At least we can Skye and Whatsapp each other occasionally. Plus I’m a big boy, I can survive without my parents (I hope).

So much happened while I was here but I must return to Amsterdam in the near future so I can really take advantage of everything. Maybe I’ll even overcome my new found fear of bikes.

Prague – The Complete Package

Day 55 – 58

I had heard quite a lot about the Czech Republic from other travellers (though I was still calling it Czechoslovakia up until I arrived – just a casual decade or two behind political developments of Europe. My bad) but still wasn’t sure what I was in for.

It wasn’t until my fellow traveling companion and I took our customary free walking tour around the city on the first day that we fell in love with Prague. It was almost instantaneous. I looked to my friend and knew she shared these sentiments. The architecture was stunning with great representations of all eras in art and culture on every street. And there was an abundance of street art scattered throughout the city, surprising you at every turn – example on the left). Ahh it was all too much. Thank goodness we were shown our way through the city by a local. I wouldn’t have known where to start.

We opted to go with Sandeman’s New Europe Walking Tours as all of our previous experience using them had been ace. This was no exception. We were led around for 3 hours but time just flew on by. Amongst all of the quirky tales we heard, our brief 20 minute history lesson had to be my favourite part. We learnt of the long wars and occupations as well as the numerous fenestrations that took place in the very streets we walked through.

But the one part of the Czech Republic’s history which had the greatest effect on me was the 1989 Velvet Revolution. We stood in an enormous square in the heart of the city (on the right) and heard of the people’s peaceful resistance to Communism.

It was only 25 years ago when the Czech people came out of their homes and congregated in that space to stand up to an oppressive regime. Tens of thousands of people (some even say around one hundred thousand people) stood in the streets and shook their house keys, symbolising the unlocking of doors. They were telling the communists they were taking back their home and it was time for them to leave. This may have just been one event out of many which took place in Prague during this time but it contributed towards them gaining their independence and freedom.

Our guide shook her keys and told us to imagine this sound multiplied by up to 100,000 times. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine this but it is something you’d have to experience firsthand to fully comprehend. Nonetheless, this moment gave me shivers and I just wanted to go up to all the Czech citizens and give them a big old hug (fortunately, I resisted this urge).

Sorry for the mini history lesson but, for me, this was moving. Simply being in that space and seeing the faces of those who lived through this made the history real, not just words on a page.

Now moving on to more cheerful things, our hostel here was superb. Just a 5 minute walk from the Old Town Square, ‘Art Hole Hostel’ had everything we could have wanted. We were in a cheap 4-bed dorm with super friendly and respectful people (yes they didn’t stay up late talking in the room with the lights on while everyone else tried to sleep). Even better, the whole hostel was just the right size so it was easy to meet people. I can’t count how many conversations I had which started in one of the kitchens while brewing a cup of tea. Everyone was so cheerful, approachable and easy going.

It was refreshing to be around such positive energy. It was good to finally be around some other people for a change (you always need a break from your fellow travelers when you’re on such a long trip). I got to make so many new friends who I hated saying goodbye to.

I remember spending an entire night sitting around the kitchen table upstairs chatting to a Norwegian, British and Aussie traveller. I could easily have gone around Europe with these girls and guy for months. The four of us ended up getting a cheeky cider in the pub across road and stayed there till closing. What makes this even better is we’re all going to be in London at the same time and a future catch-up has already been planned. Bogan Bingo at ‘The Slug’ in London will happen and I cannot wait to see them all again so we can drink, dance and generally get up to no good.

But during the stay, I got up to a lot more mischief. Unlike much of my trip, I was around people who loved to drink and go out so I took full advantage of this. The hostel organised a super cheap pub crawl around the city where I got to meet so many more awesome people from all over the globe. I had way too much fun wandering around the streets with a bunch of random people who quickly became my good friends.

I seriously had the best time in Prague. The place, the people and I can’t forget the crazy cheap beer (cheaper than water). If I hadn’t converted to a beer drinker before this part of the trip, Prague made sure it was now an undeniable reality (sorry to those who know me back home as a cider man. I’ve changed…)

Above all other cities, this had to be the one I both didn’t want to leave the most yet felt as if I had truly done it properly. I saw and did everything I wanted to. We watched the famous Astronomical Clock in action and walked to the top of the tower to look over the whole town (I’m a sucker for viewpoints). We went into the obligatory churches (found my fave so far as it looked like the mansion of an evil Disney villain. Yes I’m a big kid). We went to the famous Prague castle and toured around it with another Sandeman’s tour.

We strolled over the Charles Bridge (0n the right) four or five times. And we just admired the architecture of Prague which had survived both world wars (making this place unique to the rest of Europe). We ate heaps of oily Schnitzel and buttery potatoes and even had time to wander and relax. Bah there is too much to name. Prague had everything on offer and I couldn’t help but eat it all up.

I will be returning to Prague. Of that I am sure.

Free Walking Tour Shows us the Real Madrid

Day 15

Like we had done in Barcelona, the 6 of us joined a free walking tour in Madrid but this time went with ‘Sandeman’s walking tours’. After getting our quick takeaway coffee in a plastic beer cup (our desperate need for caffeine meant we’d take anything) we met up with our group at Placa Mayor. Our guide, Celia, was an interesting character. While her accent resembled that of a British chav, she happened to be a born and bred local.

She also seemed to have a love/hate relationship with her city. She spoke of her obsession with tapas but would go all pursed lipped at the thought of eating the terrible tourist food which lined so many of the streets. The rich history filled with violence and mystery got her excited as she included everyone in on her history lessons but she showed her clear feminist/left political leanings when she criticised so many of the past and present leaders of Spain. She loved her music (she is the lead singer in a blues band) but hated Eurovision (how dare she!!) and how limited she thought Spanish music was.

Celia was selling us her city but she couldn’t help but let her criticisms seep through. This is what made her such a good guide. She showed us the real Madrid (its beauty and its ugly side). It was refreshing to have a more frank description of a city rather than the dolled up tourist version we had already been receiving.

To make things better, I couldn’t help but chuckle every time she got distracted by a dog passing us on the street. She’d try to resist showing her affection but failed to control herself every time. She chased them down the street and would stop mid-sentence to pat them. It was adorable.

But what I liked most about her, is how she discussed all the different cultures and religions which have been a part of Madrid and how they continue to be important today. She did this by showing us a rarely seen perspective of La Almudena Cathedral (on the right). The Church itself was created for Christians. The old wall in front of it is from the period during which Madrid was settled by the Muslims. And in the forefront of the picture is a small park and water feature in the shape of the Star of David to represent the Jewish community and the role they played in Madrid’s past, present and future. There was true respect for this diversity. Each culture had played a role in Spain’s art, literature, language, food and architecture.

But she also pointed out how these sentiments are not shared by everyone in Madrid. To her, many politicians and those from older generations are far more ignorant and unable to appreciate how this mixture of cultures is good for the city. Oh how these sentiments took me back to Australian politics and our treatment of refugees. But I digress (this blog isn’t meant to be full of my political rants).

I had learnt so much from this little walking tour but was still left a little underwhelmed by what I saw around me. It just wasn’t as nice a city to look at as Barcelona. It was louder and less clean. It was hot and had very little breeze. I was intrigued but not won over by Madrid at this point. Maybe I just haven’t seen the good bits. At least I still have 3 more days to truly appreciate it all. I just need to give it some time.