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Published: August 8th 2007
Amsterdam
Again we set about camping as hostel prices in Amsterdam are more like hotel prices - its getting ridiculous for the budget travellers in some cities....but that's travellin. We were only a tram ride away from all the action anyway so it wasn't too bad.
The first night there we caught up with my brother Troy whom I haven't seen in four years since leaving Oz back in 03 so we pretty much got stuck into the Heineken in the hotel bar where he was staying, then of course went for a stroll through the Red Light District as you do. I caught the eye of one of the 'workers' standing up on her balcony, she clapped her eyes on Sam and yelled "I like your friend" in some strange ass accent (tits and ass hanging out everywhere) we all lost it, Sam thought it was great and its been a running joke between us all week.
We stayed here for a week catching up with my bro every day to get around and do stuff. Amsterdam, like London, you couldn't possibly see everything in a couple of days. Even a week felt a bit short here but
we managed to do everything that we planned on doing. We got around to a few museums - the Hash/Hemp Museum, Erotic, and my fave - Van Gogh. We also got to the Heineken brewery which is a must do, the place is awesome, and much better than the Guiness factory in Dublin. It's really interactive and you get more free beer as well.
We did a boat cruise through the canals to get a perspective of the city from the water. It's pretty strange coz the majority of Amsterdam is actually below sea level and Schiphol airport is as much as 4.5m below - weird eh? We also visited the Bulldog Coffeeshop, apparently the first coffee shop in Amsterdam established in 1975. Troy and Sam had a sample of the smoke (but stayed away from the Shrooms and Space Cakes) but I didn't indulge at all, I'm silly enough without it. Walking around, the streets are full of the smell of the green stuff anyway so there isn't much need to buy any - you just breathe!!!
On the third day we headed out of the city to a place called Zaanse Schans, a suburb of
Koog-Zaandijk.
It's right on the water and is home to five old school industrial windmills still in use and producing various materials such as mustard, oil and paint. They are so impressive to see in action, and you can even go inside and watch the millers at work. Also there, exists a cheese factory (some of the best stuff comes from the Netherlands), we gorged on all the samples and then went next door to the clog factory to see how the old wooden shoes were made. Some people out here still wear them in this village - yep we had a pretty good taste of real Dutch culture this day.
Our last night with Troy before he set off for home we rugged up and went to a bar completely made out of ice. Everything in there was frozen - even the glasses we drunk cocktails out of. It was a real trip but freakin' cold so you can really only stay in there for about twenty minutes.
All in all, Amsterdam is an awesome place, and it would have been really cool to settle here and work over the summer months had we not had other places
to go and explore. However, at first it was a novelty to see all the bikes (approx 700,000 in Amsterdam alone - basically one each), but after a week the novelty wore off and they started to really pee you off. Ok, so the streets are narrow, and there's no parking anywhere, but honestly, after a week of nearly getting your toes mown down everyday and those frickin' bike bells you get over it very quickly!!!
One last thing before we sign off, which we thought was pretty funny, everyone is so mashed over here that the parking people have to pull at least one car out of the canals every week! Errr.. is that a parking space or water man.... stoners!!! We witnessed someone getting hit by a van as well while we were having a beer across the street. Great city but highly dangerous to pedestrians.
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Katie
non-member comment
Hey Cous!
Hey Sal!!!! Looks like you guys are having so much fun! Bet you are over the moon to be seeing Troy. I'm missin David so much, planning to get over there at the end of the year. I look forward to reading your blogs every time - it is so nice to find your email amongst all the work stuff!!! When are you planning to be back in Aus? Will send an email soon to fill you in on goss. Love Katie :)