Amsterdam; 1/7/09

So finally, I was up to my last stop before heading back to Sweden; Amsterdam! I took a train from Freiburg up through Germany, passing through Frankfurt and Cologne on the way to Holland. My train had a lot of technical problems so we eventually switched off to a regional train in Arnhem, Holland for the last little leg to Amsterdam. I arrived at the central station in Amsterdam at about 11:30 PM after about a 6-hour trip, so I was really excited to not be sitting down anymore. My first priority was finding my hostel, which didn’t take too long. The directions that the hostel website gave were spot on. Amsterdam doesn’t have streets so much as it has alleys, and this is something that I definitely noticed after walking a few blocks.
Apartments and buildings are crammed in next to each other, the width of each building no more than a few meters at the most. It gives the city a very quaint, unique look, which has been plastered over oh so many postcards. The funny thing about the architecture is that when you enter a building, the stairs are usually really steep so it feels like you’re going to slip and crash down them at a moment’s notice. Everything seems kind of cramped too, in some places at least. After arriving at my hostel and checking in I just wanted to crash and get some sleep. The beds were comfortable and I was out almost immediately.
I had to check out at 9:30 AM the next morning (arrgghhh too early) so I had some free breakfast provided by the hostel before getting all of my things together and checking out. My flight to Stockholm was at 6 PM the same day so I had just the day to explore. I just decided to go out walking, not trying to see any sights in particular as the city is a sight in and of itself. The famous canals weren’t too impressive as it’s winter and people aren’t really using them. Mostly they were just filled with chunks of ice and the occasional wandering bird. I’m sure they’re pretty awesome in the summer though, when people take their boats out on them. I saw that some boats were tied up outside apartments that were on the canals. I can’t imagine how cool it is to be able to not drive somewhere for work or lunch, but to go by water.
I ran into a native Dutch guy who asked for some change for a train ticket and I obliged, as he wasn’t aggressive or a beggar or anything (he had nicer clothes than me). For the change he told me of the best ‘coffeeshop’ in Amsterdam, De Dampkring, where scenes from Ocean’s 12 were shot. He explained how to get there and then he went on his way. I thought that going there could be awesome, but I wasn’t exactly in the mood to smoke marijuana, even legally, at 10 AM. I decided to wander some more.
I ended up in a very picturesque part of the city, close the Red Light district, which can be hard to recognize during the daytime, when it isn’t flashing with pulsing neon lights and being frequented by lingerie-clad prostitutes. The plethora of sex shops and coffee shops kind of gives it away though. It’s one of those things that at first boggles the mind, then overwhelms the senses, then just kind of confuses. It’s certainly a progression of different reactions that one has there.
Overall, even though I only spent one day there, I can easily say that if I did stay for longer, Amsterdam would probably end up being one of my favorite cities in Europe. It’s liberal, elegant, progressive, and has a charm that is really unique. Though I’ve heard equally amazing things about another city that I’ve yet to visit; Berlin. That’s next on my agenda!