Tag 18 & 19 (Amsterdam Tag 4 & 5)

We went back to the Flower market area and sat for some coffee which turned out to be absurdly expensive. We went after this to look around at shops and I actually got a shirt/sweatshirt. We went to Vondelpark and sat around for a while until it started to rain. We heard some music coming from the distance so we slowly wandered towards it. We found it coming from this open, free stage place inside the far end of Vondelpark. The band playing was called 'K-Oz Collective' (pronounced like 'Chaos'), a Dutch band that had an ecclectic sound of funk, hip hop, rock, and some rap - their sound was a lot like early Incubus. They had an old drummer and guitarist but other than that they had a really young singer with red hair, a bassist playing a stand up bass, a person playing keyboards, and a DJ scratching - they were pretty darn good. Also there were two somewhat drunk locals who were in the front row dancing around and it was extremely entertaining to watch.

K-Oz Collective

K-Oz Collective with two dancin' fools

Knocked over tree in the park

Path in the park

Contrary to what one might expect, this is a church and Jesus is in the middle of the hexagram

We went to a bar that was recommended by the book called Chocolate something-or-other. We had to walk through a ridiculously dirty part of town that looked like a tornado had gone through it - I think, in reality, a Farmer's Market had happened earlier.

A stork rummaging through all the left over food

A huge rainbow that we saw as we were walking back

That night we went back to the Cafe on the water and had some dinner - I had some nice hot lasagne and Ashley got this big thing of tomato soup and bread with hummus. It was quite nice and extremely inexpensive compared to other places and taking into account how nice the restaurant was. We sat by the water for a while and then went back to the hostle to rest. Ashley's friends had mentioned earlier that they were going to see the band Justice so we looked up where it was playing and thought about going there to see if there were tickets or just to listen from outside but decided against it for multiple reasons - mostly because it was extremely far away and we didn't even know how good the band was. I was satisfied from our earlier musical experience in Vondelpark.

We passed out for our last night in the Aivenau Youth Hostel and woke up around 9AM the next day. We pretty much went straight to the train station and hopped on a train to Utrecht Centraal, a train station somewhat south of Amsterdam but still in Niederlande. Ashley said that we weren't technically allowed to take the train we just took (though luckily no one had checked our tickets during the short trip) and we found out that we had reservations on German ICE trains, which were the only ones we were allowed to take... except they were leaving in 7 hours. So we took this time to explore the city of Utrecht. We followed a spire in the distanced to an old church which was having a service inside - it started to let out about 5 minutes after we got there and a big organ started to play. We wandered around the edge of the church and found a small little garden place, and tried to read the latin on this Solar globe outside the church (it said something like "Let the Sun of Justice shine on all." Apparently they are not shy about their solar symbolism). 

We went down a few roads and went into a few shops but went back to the train station about 3 hours before we needed to leave. We had put our bags into a locker in the train station but couldnt get the locker open when we got back so I had to get help. The guy told me that we did it wrong and the locker had opened and someone brought our bags to the ticket counter. It was a 20-minute ordeal but we got our bags left and didn't have to pay for another locker's worth (4 euro). I tried to give the guy who helped me an Euro but he refused saying he couldn't take tips. I lowered my hand below the desk and asked "even in private?" and he said yes and went on his way without my American tip. We got some ice cream during our wait but eventually our train came. We read on the way back and saw Tracy at one of the stations. After a long traveling day, we got back into Göttingen around 930PM and stopped for some Subway sandwiches. So ends our Amsterdamian excursion.

Tag 17 (Amsterdam Tag 3)

We got up around 9 and ate breakfast & had coffee at a small place by our hostel, From there we went to this open market and looked around for a while. Ashley tried on an M.C. Escher dress but we didn't buy anything. From there, we walked past the Hortus Botanicus but we didn't go inside because it cost money. So we went into a little pub and got some drinks. We chilled there for a while until we decided to walk to this park area...

Small river running through the park

Looking out on the park

This part of town didn't look like the other, main part of Amsterdam. We walked through the park and sat down by a stream at part where there were ducks and a couple swans. After that, we walked to 'Mankind,' a small restaurant on the side of a canal, and had lunch there. I ordered a weiß beer from Belgium that they've been making since the 11th century. Ashley asked about 'Bitterballen,' which were recommended by the travel guide. The waitress answered that they were dough and meat bits rolled up and then fried. When Ashley said 'thanks I just wanted to know,' the waitress said something like "they sound pretty disgusting don't they?" and another waiter chimed in "they are disgusting!" After lunch we got that heated Dutche waffle-thing again and some ice cream at this place called 'Australian,' which had a chocolate fountain.

A most flattering picture of Ashley eating at 'Mankind'

We walked west along the south end of Amsterdam and eventually tried to find the 'Electric Ladyland' museum of fluorescent art. After some initial directional difficulties we found the place. We went in and found Nick, the store's/museum's owner. He showed us around the store up top as we asked about various pieces and the nature of the fluorescence itself. We paid 5 euro each and went down the Amsterdam-stairs (that is, absurdly steep) into the museum. 

These are all 'inorganic materials' which naturally 'fluoresce'

Part of his display

The fluorescent art display from afar with Ashley looking in the Shiva mirror part

It consisted of one free-standing case with various naturally fluorescent rocks, a sort of glass display like those that jewelry sellers have, and a big artistic display of this guy's work which you could literally walk into. He was really nice, chill, and talkative. There were tons of Hindu statues and symbols like Ganesh, Shiva lingams, and Om's. Sometimes he finished his sentence with a laugh and "Hare Ram Ram." In his display case he had fluorescent things from the 20's and 30's like old 'medical' tools that used black lights including 'miracle machines' which could supposedly cure all sorts of things from baldness to rickets (of course, they were getting suburnt at best and skin cancer at worst). He even showed us babies who got daily 'black light' treatments. He also showed us the black light features of certain everyday objects like credit cards, bank notes, and even basmati rice. He talked about things from government uses of black light to India to the inspiration behind his art pieces - it was nice to talk to someone so passionate about his work/art. Even though the place was small we spent almost 2 hours there.

Part of the display - the bright light is actually a light shining through a geode

The left side of the display with looking windows to see a naturally blue fluorescent rock from Britain

A picture of the store up above the museum area with a blurry picture of Nick, the artist and curator of this small place, and his girlfriend in the background

From there we sat down for some drinks at a bar and then got up to walk around. I felt like Iwas hungry again so we stopped for a falafel. After that we headed back to the hostel to rest for a while. Ashley's friend Kat and others came to Amsterdam today but Ashley can't make outgoing calls outside of Germany without loading money onto the phone. No one called.

Tag 16 (Amsterdam Tag 2)

I woke up around 8AM with a cramp in my back. I looked around and the other four beds in the room were now occupied by a group of two guys and two girls. We got ready and headed downstairs to get coffee and some bread with cheese. We figured out some things that we wanted to do and then headed out.

The aforementioned stairs of death

Death-stairs #2

We saw the Flower market first which was simply a bunch of shops selling tulip buds lining the street. Ashley got some tulips that could be taken to the USA since most were not 'health inspected' apparently. 

Flower market

After this we went into a gigantic record shop where Ashley bought a David Bowie record for her sister. We walked around and stopped for some coffee, a chocolate croissant, and a heated Dutch waffle-thing which is apparently quite popular (and delicious). We walked around more, saw a Rembrandt statue, an Anne Franke statue, etc. 

Rembrandt statue in the background with a 3-dimensional statue-rendering of one of his works of art in the foreground

We went into this recommended sandwich place as it started to drizzle. The sandwiches were good but not as hearty as the guidebook had suggested. It took them a long time to get us our check and when it came, we got charged for two waters instead of one... so we had to wait longer for all that business.

Random picture of a typical Amsterdam canal

Finally, we got out of there and saw the 'Homomonument' (thats its official name), which is a monument composed of 3 pink triangles in the ground in recognition of homosexuals. The pink triangle was a symbol given to homosexuals by Nazis during WW2 but since then it has become an emblem of pride. After looking at that for a few moments we went into a multiple-language bookstore where we looked around for a long time - I got Nietzsche's 'Ecce Homo' (No, not related to the previously seen Homomonument... It means "Behold, the man," said about Jesus when he was turned in and put before the masses). After the bookstore we went into a small cafe for some more coffee and Ashley got these tiny, sugar-powdered pancake things. We came back to our new hostel, Aivenau Youth Hostel, around 4pm when I read some of the new Nietzsche book. We napped for a little bit and then went out.... we spent a long time looking for a Geldautomaat (ATM) and we eventually found one in a part of town that we hadn't been to before. 

One of many clock-towers in Amsterdam

A closer look at the war monument 

An entertainer juggling a flaming stick & a knife while eating an apple

A marching band from Switzerland or something

Looking up stuff in "Let's Go Germany"

We walked by one dude who made eye-contact and just said the word 'sniff' loudly... perhaps a street name for a drug or perhaps he was asking to smell me... Anyways, we walked along the canals looking for a place to eat and another guy walked by and said 'ecstasy pills.' No thanks. Right up the street was a coffee shop coincidentally called "Extasi."

These phallic posts are everywhere on every street in Amsterdam - they even have 'XXX' written vertically, which happens to be part of Amsterdam's coat of arms. Who woulda' thunk...

We looked at the restaurant called "In de Waag" but it was too nice and expensive so we looked for some recommended place in the travel book, but unfortunately it didn't exist anymore. We settled on Thai food around the area which was quite good - their peanut sauce was nice. I tried Jupiler beer which was also good. I almost knocked the table over twice because it was unstable. 

Sweetheart candies from the Thai restaurant

After dinner we walked to the river Amstel and saw a place on the water called Café de Jahés which was chill and inexpensive. I tried to get a Jim Beam and the waitress said "Jimmy?" and I was like "Yea, I guess" but instead got a Chimay beer which tasted like a dunkel (dark) version of Hefeweizen. It was worth it I think. We stayed there for a long time enjoying the water & view, and decided we would go back there sometime.

Café on the canal #1

Café on the canal #2

Café on the canal #3

After that we wandered around the Red-light district looking at all the women in the windows and all the varieties of sex shows, shops, and purveyors. It was actually a lot smaller than I imagined - you can meander through the whole district in about 8 minutes. We eventually made our way back to the hostel to pass out. I was awoken by loud, strange snoring and other episodes during the night...

Tag 15 (Amsterdam Tag 1)

Ashley & I woke up around 9am and left for the Göttingen train station around 925AM. We snagged some Brötchen sandwiches and croissants before we got on the train, which was 5 minutes late. We got into the station as our next train was leaving, but the announcer on the train we had just gotten off from said our train was waiting for us on track 12, so we ran over there and hopped onto the train... The doors literally closed right behind us. Then we realized we had gotten on a train going to Köln (Cologne) instead of Niederlande (the Netherlands). We found an information lady on the train and she told us which trains we needed to take - it would get us into Amsterdam about 2-3 hours behind our original schedule. At one point when we were waiting in an area in between first class carts, a lady gave us some soccer-shaped chocolates...

Deutsche Bahn soccer chocolate

To Amsterdam!

When we got to the next station I saw there was an earlier train leaving to Amsterdam which we then took. We went into the dining cart and had some coffee...

Eventually we got to Centraal Station in Amsterdam. It was humid and a little hot... and extremely crowded. 

The crowded streets of Amsterdam

One of the main squares, here with a war monument in the background

Main square #2 with a view of the city-hall

Main square #3

Main square #4 with gangsta' face

We found the street we needed to walk down to get to Hotel Sphinx but we stopped in Maoz falafel first. They give you a falafel and let you fill & re-fill it with the items in their salad/fillings bar. After that, Ashley checked into the room and we started to walk around town. 

Land iguana statues in a small garden outside Sphinx Hotel

Sphinx Hotel room

We visited one of the town's "coffee shops" called Dolphin, which was amusing. Most people there speech fluent English so it was a change from trying to understand & speak in Deutschland. After that, we wandered through the city streets for a while and saw a bunch of shops, weird architecture and all the canals. 

Asian people with umbrellas going under a bridge on a canal

A typical canal in Amsterdam - the boats are called Steppenwolf and Kaos

Front of one of many churches

A large building in Amsterdam with Atlas holding the world on top

A building with a reflective front

At one point it started raining strongly so we eventually found a 5 euro umbrella (of course, by that time, it had stopped raining but we were still drenched).We went to a bakery where we got stuff that ended up  being something like 4,15 euro... Ashley tried to pay the 15 cents with 1 & 2 cent coins which the guy said weren't accepted anymore in Niederlande.

After sitting by the side of a channel for a while, we wandered some more until we sat down outside an Amstel bar (Amsterdam literally means 'dam on the Amstel river'). We chilled there for a while. 

Local brew

From the Amstel bar we went slowly back to the Hotel to rest (it was about 9pm), take showevers, etc. When two girls came into the room to claim their beds we were getting ready to leave. We went out to this big square where there were tons of people. Amsterdam is especially bumpin' at night... and this was just a Wednesday night.

Amsterdam at night

We found this Italian place to sit down and eat at - I had a nice Pizza Marghirita and we had 2 small Heinekens. We sat next to some sociable/drunk guy who talked in bursts and always had a little comment to make every two seconds.

Eventually we departed and found the Jazz club 'Alta' after initially walking past it. The guide (and the front door) said entrance was free but a guy was asking us for a 5 euro cover charge. That, combinbed with the fact that it was extremely crowded, led us to look for the other live music place called 'The Waterhole.' There was a guy sitting in the doorway there too and we were getting tired so we started the trek back to the Sphinx Hotel, which has some of the steepest stairs known to man... the fourth step is almost above your head. Its like climbing a curving ladder). When we got back, those two girls were just going to bed. We looked at the travel guide for a few minutes and then went to sleep.