Amsterdam 11/13

Armistice day fell on Wednesday this year, inspiring many of the GTL students to be sick on thursday, creating a five-day weekend to travel. Unfortunately, I actually was sick Wednesday and Thursday. My illness probably could have been avoided with a little extra rest on Tuesday, but I felt bad missing class in the midst of a short week. My friends headed off on a whirlwind tour of Brussels, Bruges, and Ghent, while I slept, read, and didn't set foot outside my room for nearly 48 hours.

Feeling better on Friday, I rode trains north to Amsterdam to meet Jon, Sohail, and Phil. Actually, as my train passed through Antwerp, they boarded directly onto my car. Finally, we had enough people for a game of pitch. Arriving in the evening in Amsterdam, we found our hostel, then set out to find a restaurant from the Let's Go guide that, we soon discovered, did not exist. We ended up eating at an Irish pub. I called my friend AJ, who was in Amsterdam with Dylan, (whom I spent time with on the Barcelona trip). On our way to meet him in the Red Light District, I bumped into Gerrard Mooney, a kid my age who used to live in Westport. The Red Light district was impressive in size, and, I hate to say it, classiness. The main streets were filled with windows where lingerie models modeled lingerie for men looking to buy lingerie for their girlfriends (just kidding). Amidst the red glow of the prostitute coves were bars and coffeeshops. Amsterdam coffeeshops sell Marijuana legally, but despite its widespread acceptance, the coffeeshops were pretty grungy and the pot itself was kept in filthy tupperware containers. We hung out with AJ and Dylan at the Jungle Coffeeshop, then headed out to see the rest of the district.

The next morning, we started at the Van Gogh Museum, which I thought was amazing. The others grew bored, but I made sure to see every bit of art and continued to keep track of my favorites. Outside the Van Gogh Museum was a long stretch of grass surrounded by beautiful buildings.

Amsterdam lacks the traditional photo-obligatory sites of most European cities. Compound that fact with the lack of sun during my trip and photos took a backseat to soaking in the atmosphere. Th entire city was beautiful - neatly dressed in brick. There were nearly as many bikes as cars - simple, heavy city bikes that shops advertised for 700 euros and up. It was easy to appreciate the bike culture benefits like independence, environmentalism, unless you stepped into the bike path and were cursed out.

In the afternoon we walked through a mile-long market at Albert Cuypmarkt. We continued to wander the streets, taking in the buildings and canals. Amsterdam has canals that form concentric rings around the center. To move any great distance usually involves crossing a number of canals.

Later on, we had beers at the Leidseplein, a square at the heart of Amsterdam's non-red-light nightlife. The Let's Go restaurant recommended a restaurant known for its steaks. The prices had nearly doubled compared to the guidebook, as corroborated by the well-dressed local clientele, but we indulged anyway.

In the morning on Friday, I went to the Rijksmuseum to get another art fix. The musuem was filled with paintings by the Dutch masters. Rembrandt was the most prominently featured. I had hoped to see some Vermeer work, but only two of his paintings were exhibited. Once I had my fill of portraits, the project of choice of the Dutch masters, I headed for the train station to meet my friends.