The next leg of our trip was Amsterdam for 2 days and 2 nights and then back to Prague, where Alyson would stay with me for 4 days before she jetted to Espana to finish her trip.
Accommodations: Our first night we stayed in hostel … whose name completely escapes me. It was fine, nothing to rave about, but its most distinguishing factor was that it was right in the center of Amsterdam’s gay neighborhood. The street name in Dutch literally meant “Gay Street.” Of course. We moved to the second night to stay with two of our friends at St. Christopher’s Hostel on Warmoestraat, which was very swanky for a hostel. Very friendly and helpful staff, cool art, clean rooms, hopping bar downstairs - and it didn’t hurt that it was right on the border of the Red Light District.
Sights:
- Anne Frank House - ”To build a future, you have to know the past.” -Otto Frank
Few things make me happier than a well-curated museum. And this place made me overjoyed. We had to wait about 45 minutes to get inside, but the wait was well-worth it. The museum takes you through the entire house, and matches the traveling through the house well with the family’s story and Holocaust history. We were astounded at how small the Annex actually was, and how much of it is perserved - marks indicating Anne and her sister Margaret’s growth while in hiding are still on walls, along with the pictures Anne used to decorate her room.
The final rooms were my favorite. One showed the fate of everyone in the Annex - most were killed or died of sickness at concentration camps. This room also showed a book with the names of everyone deported from the Netherlands and to where; it’s a very large book. What really got me here, though, was a video testimony from a survivor who was Anne’s best friend in the camp; describing their personal interactions, and how clearly she remembers Anne crying to her after her sister had died. The following room featured Anne’s actual diaries and other writings, as well as copies of the translations for it that exist in over 70 languages. The last room was about reflection, but not as a memorial. It held 4 large TV screens, with ample seating and standing room, each spot with a green and red button next to it. The screens would show short segments about divisive civil rights issues around the world, and would then ask audience members to vote on their feelings on the issue. Then, a graph would be generated to show the responses of current visitors, and of all visitors to the museum. The results were quite surprising and intriguing. I felt this was an excellent way to end the exhibit - asking provocative questions and clearly applying the history to modern day scenarios in a way that was accessible for any museum goer.
- Canal Tour - On this boat tour through the city’s canals, we really learned about the city’s history and started to understand the geography better. It was slow and relaxing, and very enjoyable. The one we took also served as a sort of water tram, so once we did the whole tour it dropped us right off by our next stop!
- Van Gogh Museum - Located in beautiful Museumplein, this place pretty much speaks for itself. The museum houses the majority of his artwork, though it is missing some of his most iconic work. This allowed us to learn a lot more about Van Gogh than what we already knew, including his life story, influences at all parts of his life, and styles we never associated with this artist. This comprises the first three floors, and the other two floors were pretty much useless filler with shoddy connections to Van Gogh.
- Heineken Experience - In the place of the original Heineken brewery, this place is Willy Wonka’s factory of beer. There’s holograms, videos, a ride, and all sorts of other activities (including the music video I posted last week). We were surprised at how much we enjoyed learning about the history of Heineken and process of beer brewing - most notably through their “Brew U Ride,” in which you’re placed in a simulator that brews and bottles you like you are the beer. The 15 Euro entrance fee gets you the entire tour and 3 beers - I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting Amsterdam.
- Red Light District - At night in between bars, we wandered around Amsterdam’s most notorious district. And it was exactly how people had described it to me - just lines of windows with prostitues showing their stuff, trying to entice passersby, along with a few erotica shops and sex show theaters. We were impressed by the sheer number of prostitutes, as well as their diversity of looks and body types - there truly is something for everyone! When we got home, we did research on the average pricing of services, as we were very intrigued by the different rules and regulations. Otherwise, we hopped between many pretty average bars, and like how the streets actually do shine red at night.
- Coffeeshops - Ok, we were in Amsterdam, we had to do some investigation. Mostly, we were just weirded out by the concept - a place with a marijuana menu, along with drinks and snacks, where groups of people just sit around very high, not really talking to each other. We peaked in a few, and were surprised by the relatively low prices, and differences in decor and atmosphere between them.
Eats:
- ‘Skeak - Another solid recommendation from Let’s Go, Europe!, this restaurant in Nieuwe Zijde was quaint despite its proximate location to the flashy Red Light District. Though their menu was small, nearly everything was creative and appetizing. Their beer and drink menu was probably triple the size of their food offerings, but we didn’t mind. Their walls featured rather interesting, graphic artwork … that was done in crayon, probably by 6-year-olds.
- Wok 2 Walk - Oh wok, I’ve missed you. An awesome chain with locations all over the city, it serves up customized wok dishes fast - with a wide variety of options and incredible taste. Portions are big too. We went twice.
- Sandwiches? - Though Dutch food is notoriously bad, Amsterdam is supposedly famous for having great sandwiches. However, the sandwiches we tried at a small cafe down the block from the Anne Frank House were pretty atrocious. Seriously, worse tuna I’ve ever had.
When applying to studying abroad, I was choosing between programs in Amsterdam and Prague, and chose Prague based mostly on intuition. In traveling to Amsterdam, I was nervous I was would realize I had maybe made the wrong decision. However, my intuition proved right - as much as I enjoyed Amsterdam, I love living in Prague much more :)
Confident in that, we hopped on a short and comfortable EasyJet flight back to Prague.
In showing Alyson around, I obviously took her to some of my favorite places (U Trabujo, Radost, U Sudu, The Globe) while also trying out some new places (Cafe Slavia, Pivovarsky Dum, Club Mecca). There was also an awesome food and craft fair in Old Town Square this week, displaying some handmade crafts and serving up some scrumptious food - including the fried dough smothered in Nutella we ate while walking around on a rainy Thursday afternoon.
On Alyson’s last night in town, we had a wacky St. Patrick’s Day celebration at Rocky O’Reily’s in Nove Mesto which played AMAZING tunes and served us (a few too) many Irish Car Bombs. All in all, a wonderful night to finish off a wonderful trip.
