Amsterdam

”Me fui sin saber, no me preguntaba qué había por perder.” //

”I left without knowing, I didn’t think of what there was to loose.”

I am staying in the north of Amsterdam, so I have to cross the river Ij to get to the center. On my way to the pier I run into a street market, I love them! You can find anything you want: clothes, food from Morocco, flowers, condoms, frying pans, bread, cheese and tools. But none of the sellers looks dutch!

Ferrys run all day and night long, for free, to get people over, whith their bycicles, scooter and sometimes even cars ;). It is really exciting for me! I can’t understand how the boat coordinate so well to not hit each other…

I arrive at the Central Station, where the toilet costs 0’5€, and a city map 2’5€. I directly go to the visitor’s center, in front of the station, to ask for advice about what to do in a day in Amsterdam. They just hand me a brochure with prices of activities and a magazine of the touristic spots. *I love it when people talk to people.* I sometimes miss my job at a hostel, where you actually had to explain and be human!

Despite the wind, it’s a pretty warm day. Must be about 11 degrees.
As I remembered, Amsterdam is a lovely city; its narrow streets and canals are full of charm.

I like the fact that the Hop on Hop off service (12€) is on a boat here, instead of a bus like in most of the cities.

This is my great discovery of the day. This piano is inside the Central Station, it has been there for about a year now, and people can stop there and play it. There’s a queue now, so I decide to visit the city first and to come back later.

 

That’s the flag of Amsterdam. The black strip means water (the river Amstel) and the crosses… well, their meaning is unclear. You might have heard that each one of them were meant to war off fire, floods and the black plague, but this is unfunded since the use of the three St. Andrews crosses by noble families in the area precedes the arrival of the Black Death in Europe. According to the city government, its origin could go back to the coat of arms of the Persijn family, which once owned a large tract of land in the capital.

Some curiosities about Amsterdam and The Netherlands:
– The sidewalks are sacred! If you are a pedestrian (and you just came from Southeast Asia) you will feel like a magical bubble is around you, making cars, motorcycles, scooters and bicycles stop for you, and nobody will invade your sidewalk. It’s really only for pedestrians.
– There are bicycle lanes everywhere, but these are shared with the scooters, who sometimes have to drive on them by law instead of on the road. Bicycle lanes are sometimes much bigger than sidewalks.
– Dutch people are well known for using bikes to move around. As a result, you will find an amazing quantity of parking spots for bicycles… And it’s always packed!

– The whole city smells like weed, because here it’s legal to buy it and smoke it, but only for dutch residents! And you have to be over 18 years old. Since 2010, foreigners can no longer buy cannabis in the Netherlands, you have to prove that you are a resident whowing your ID. Nevertheless, in Amsterdam everybody gets it from somewhere, and most of the coffee shops don’t mind selling it to foreigners, since it’s the biggest tourism attraction in here.

There are coffee shops everywhere, and it’s just normal to see people on one terrace having a coffee and on the other one smoking a joint.

– In Holland they don’t use 1 and 2 cents coins. They round it up or down. This means, if you buy something that costs 1’43€, you pay 1’45€, but if it costs 1’42€, you pay 1’40€. The reason for this is that it costs more than 1 cent to make a 1 cent coin, so it’s a waste of money.

Stroopwafels is typical from Holland. They are made from two thin layers of bakes dough with a caramel syrup filling in the middle. Originally the dough was made of leftovers from the bakery (like breadcrumbs) and then sweetened with syrup. I really like them and it’s a must when I come to visit! Or a great present to bring to another country, since they stay good for a long long time.

Dutch people love bread almost as much as French, but you won’t see a baguette anywhere! There’s a lot of whole wheat bread and the shape is different as well, as you can see.

Of course, Dutch cheese is very famous! I prefer French cheese, but I guess it’s all a matter of who showed it to you in the first place 😉

Every city I’ve been to in The Netherlands has a street only for pedestrians. Usually it’s a shopping street, but you will definitely find restaurants and a french fries stand as well ;).

– About food: if you have followed the whole story of my trip, you know by now that Indonesia was a Dutch colony 70 years ago. This is still very obvious when talking about food. Here you can eat a Nasi Goreng, Randang and Saté sauce, but for a different price… Mie Goreng (basic fried noodle): 5€. (We ate for 0’5 – 1€ in Indonesia!), and that’s the cheaper you will get in pretty much everything. The only cheaper deal is small french fries for minimum 3€. I can’t get used to it! Though walking through a big supermarket still gives me strong beautiful emotions <3.

By the end of the day, I go back to the Central Station.
I can’t leave the city without having played the piano.
I arrive and there are four girls with amazing voices singing in harmony while a great piano player gives voice to the piano, and a guy is offering free hugs in front of them.

The girls were all reading lyrics from their phones which seemed weird to me, used to jam sessions and looking people in the eye, but it still was awesome.

I ended up meeting as well these two wonderful persons, singer and piano player, and did our own jam ;).

I go back to the boat (slowly getting used to the right side of the road), feeling like I could live in this city just like I did live in Paris. It’s just that my heart is taken, and Paris is Paris.

I share another great night on the Valparaiso with brownies, cards and mind games,  and fall asleep knowing that the end is getting closer, but having enjoyed every bit of it.

”Eha waa” says Peter. Goodnight to you too.