I had to buy a train ticket to get to Central Station Amsterdam, so did that and jumped on the double decker train, it was about a 20 min ride and we get to the station and I walked out to tons of tourist everywhere. I walked across the street to the tourist information and I couldn't believe how many people there were, craziness, and then it also hit me that I am now getting into the countries where they speak thier own language and was a little worried but figured they know english, thank god it is the universal language.
Ok, so I looked at my directions to the hostel and I just started walking, I was so looking forward to this, I was really excited. I walked through a street and came out at a canal, looked up and there was the right street I needed so I just kept walking and kept my eyes open for the hostel, well the silly thing is I passed it, apparently the street names are the same on both sides of the canal and I was on the wrong side and since I was only watching for the number and not the sign, which I passed like 3 or 4 of the Bulldog sign, I just turned around and walked back on the other side and there it was.
how cute is this, it is the delivery truck for the hostel and coffeeshops and souvenir shops, I think, it is just so tiny......lol
Walked in and it was a very cool place, there is a lounge area right when you walk in at the reception area, and then a bar further in with internet pool, and t.v with wii. The reception staff were great, the girl of whom I know now, Sandra, got me into an all girls room for all the days I booked so I didn't have to change rooms after one day, "thanks again Sandra, you're Great!"
(just a pic of the 2 of us, taken later in my stay but thought I would add it here where I mention her)
So, got my key and went up to the room, there was 4 bunkbeds, nice sized lockers, a separate toilet room and then a sink and shower room too, all in our room, so that was great. It was very clean and spacious, with a nice big window overlooking the canal and the Red Light District. I met Laura and Anna from San Fran, and there was 2 other girls from England, didn't get their names. I dropped my things off and went back downstairs to check things out, then I went to sit outside for a bit to just watch things, as I was right in the red light district and well you can just sit and watch people and what is going on, pretty wild stuff. While sitting there, I met another girl from San Fran, Sun, yes that is her real name. I sat and chatted with her for a bit, she was a bit on the eccentric side but cool girl, she was telling me about the walking tours and how great they were and the tour guide (wink wink, nudge nudge John ;) ) and then she invited me to go get a bite to eat with her and her friend Amy from Chicago, so we went to find somewhere to eat. We ended up at an Asian restaurant and the service, sorry to say was not good, but finally got our food and it was good. Funny thing, right after eating and I had steak rolls with rice, strangely enough a cat walks by, yup right in the restaurant, and I did see that a few more times while there, in an Italian place and another spot, so needless to say, there is lots of cats around, our hostel, although it was called the bulldog, had a pet kitty there....lol. So after dinner we walked around and well I jumped right into the red light district. We walked through a bunch of the alley ways with the doors and the red lights and the girls all dressed differently and barely, and man I have to say, I give them credit to be able to do that. Besides the service they provide, just standing in a door while millions of people look at you, just wierd. Anyways, we will talk more about that later. We returned to the hostel and back in my room, I met Lauren and Amy from Texas, and Tanya from Australia who is living in London. We all chatted about our travels and Tanya was actually working in Amsterdam as she gets to do at least once or twice a month (too cool) and she decided to stay for the weekend and have some fun, good on her! I went down and got online for a bit and then back to the room and to sleep.
Day 33 Sat. May 23 Woke up this morning with a terrible sore throat, and feeling crappy and I was bummed out. I went down for breakfast with Tanya, they served buns, cheese, salami, ham, bread, yogurt and granola. They had a neat toaster that you could do like panini sandwiches in and of course coffee and orange juice and some fruit. I finished eating and then went and called health insurance to find out what to do, (I was going to nip this thing in the butt, there was no way it was going to ruin my time in Amsterdam) then I went down to reception and they helped me with a doctor. There is an expat doctor who deals with tourist and expats, so they called for me and made an appt. (again very helpful staff....thanks Bryan) I got dressed and ready and I made my way to find the Dr. office to make sure I knew where it was. I took some pics along the way, and I sat at a bench along the canal and waited since it was too early for my appt yet.
this is the doctors office
one of the many houseboats, so many different styles, shapes and sizes, there are over 2500 houseboats in A-dam.
So, finally got in to see him and he checked me out, just a throat infection so he gave me a prescription for antibiotics and I was on my way. I went to the grocery store on the way back and grabbed some staples again, water, snacks, and then to the pharmacy to get my meds. I made my way back to the hostel as I was feeling very tired and bad so I needed a nap. I got there and laid down, then Tanya, Laura and Anna came back from the walking tour they were on, we all chatted for a bit and we all decided to go on the Red Light District walking tour later and then everyone napped.
On to that...we all got up and walked down to the information building to meet the tour guide, we had John the same guide they had for their morning tour. So off we went, I have to say I really enjoyed the tour, there is so much information and I will give you what I remember with some pics as well.
We started out at the Prins Hendrik Hotel, it is famous because Chet Baker, a famous jazz trumpeter, frequented here and one day he was found dead in front of the hotel, they don't know if it was suicide or a murder.
The guy in the bottom right corner with the red shirt is our tour guide John, and he did a great job, lots of enthusiasm. Thanks John!
Some basic information about the Red Light District.
It is not dangerous, (as I thought it would be) it is actually one of the safest areas of the city, there are always police around, security cameras and of course tons of tourists. The only thing to watch out for is the pickpockets.
Also, you need to be cautious of the cars and bikes, most of the bikes have bells on them, so if you hear them, move out of the way!
There are, as they call them "Charley Boys" and charley is another name for heroin and these guys are just junkies that are trying to sell you drugs, but more then likely it is false, either laundry detergent or crushed aspirin. I did encounter a couple of these dudes while walking along and they call ya "sister" and then try to offer you the best ecstasy or other stuff and you just say no thanks and they leave you alone, so all good. I didn't take any pics of those guys.
Ok, so a bit about the prostitution in Amsterdam, it dates back for many years, back to the days of all the ships porting into Amsterdam and the Sailors staying in town and drinking and corrupting the woman. The Red Light District is alot smaller then 100 yrs ago, it was twice the size and the area was called "devils corner" or "the hole". There is not only the windows/doors but also escort services, who come to your home or hotel and prostitutes that work from their own homes and then brothels. These girls work for themselves, there are no pimps, they rent the rooms in shifts of 8hrs for between 75-100euro from a company which includes security and there is a store I believe it was or a supply place where they get whatever they need, and there is security cameras all around the RLD, and if something should happen and the girls need help someone is there very quickly.
How it works is a customer will go up to the door and the girl will open and they will discuss what he/she wants and the girls give a price, the basic is for oral and sex 50euro/15min, and anything extra you pay more. I actually saw a few transactions going on, and spoke to a few guys that partook in this. So strange, but honest I guess, since it is right out there where you can see it.
You can not take pics of the girls at all, they will come out and take your camera and break it or throw it in the canal, as they should. There is a Prostitutes Information Center, yes there is....it is run by former prostitutes and the founder wrote a handbook on how to be a prostitute, with things like how to deal with your family and friends finding out and the taxes, safety, etc. Anyone can go in there and get information also. The girls are of all different nationalities and each alley is dedicated to different ones and the girls usually stick together from the same places, makes sense. There are also Blue Light windows and these are not always woman in them, and S&M windows too, kinda crazy. The girls get checked 2x week and get a card from the doctor to verify that they are clean and can go one working. The oldest prostitute is 85, I think he said, now that is a sad thought, but a girl has to make a living and apparently they can clear up to 150 000/yr and that is only what they claim of course, wow!
One thing I wondered on the tour, and it got answered for me was "why is there no men in the RLD", and well they apparently tried it. They got tons of applicants and picked 5, put them in the windows and there was a media frenzy of course, and the female prostitutes weren't happy with all the cameras, etc so they stopped the experiment after a half hour and in that time they had 7 clients. So, for many other reason there are no men in the RLD, but of course there is escort services just like anywhere else.
A question from alot of people is what is the meaning behind the "red lights" and well apparently there is alot of different theories, and well sorry John I am giving it up here to everyone......the reason for the red lights in the windows is that ....drum roll.... people look better in red lights, it hides skin blemishes. So if you ever want to look ecspecially good and hide anything, get some red lights in your bedrooms.........lol :) :) :) !!!
Ok, so on to some pics, the first one is the "Old Church" (Catholic church, and there is very few of those in Amsterdam as it is mostly Protestant) it is the oldest stone building in the city and dates back to 14th century.....the strange thing is it is right in the middle of the RLD, and close to the gay strip, the theory of this is way back when the Sailors would come into town, and they would partake in the RLD and party all night, before they went back off to sea they would go to the church and confess their sins, pay and be forgiven, this way if something should happen to them at sea, they would go to heaven. And yes I did say they would pay, so in a Catholic church, after confessing your sins, they would pay, just a way for the corrupt priest back then to make some money also, and I say corrupt because they also dabbled in the RLD, yes, all you Catholics, believe it or not. Of course nowadays it is not like that, and this church very rarely has services, it is used for exhibitions and concerts. Also strange there are primary schools around the RLD, but apparently soon they will be closing some of the coffeeshops and windows in those areas.
Okay, just some pics from along the tour.
The "Old Church"
couple of the alleys of windows/doors
this is just along the canal in the RLD, and you can kinda see the windows
This is the Prostitute Information Center
This is the Gay District and one of the bars there, the "Cockring", thought the sign was cool, and if you notice how closed off it is, no windows, that is how all the gay bars are
You see the rainbow flag, well there is also a blue, black and white striped flag with a red heart on it and this is the S&M flag
This is the Condomerie, they sell all kinds of different condoms in many different forms, if you can see them at all, there is big ben, the eiffel tower, and ones you can't see if the Simpsons family one of each character. Obvioulsy these can not be used, they are just for show.
A bit of trivia: Mr. Goodyear made the 1st industrial condom in the 1800's, funny, but true!
This is the most famous place in the RLD "Casa Roso", it's the world's 1st modern sex theatre, they charge 45 euro for a 1hour show with 3 drinks, I went to a show, not here but I will tell you about that alittle later. lol
You can see in front of it there is 2 bushes, apparently years ago, there was 2 fountains shaped like giant penis, and the locals didn't like it too much so they removed them.
This is the Exotic Museum, of which I did tour in on another day, it was just history of the porn industry, not too explicit, lots of pics and some different knick knack things, and then of course a gift shop. Right in the entrance way there is a woman on a bike, you can slightly see, and well the bike is not a regular bike.....there is somehting on the seat, that is all I am saying as I do have some minors reading this blog. ;)
Next, this is the Banana Bar, there are alot of rules against strip bars and topless bars, I know rather strange considering everything else going on in the RLD, but to get around the rules the owner of this place came up with a good plan. He sells beer glasses for 40 euro and you can fill it up and then you can either get a table dance or there are topless woman. So, it is kind of a little catch but it works.
random shot of one of the souvenir shops, yes the "star shop" lol
I have to say it is mezmerizing by all that you see walking up and down the canals, so many sex shops, sex theatres, coffee shops, souvenir shops and of course the girls. I would have to say that Amsterdam is like the European version of Vegas, and that includes "what happens in Amsterdam,, stays in Amsterdam".
I couldn't believe all the different walks of life that were there, and ages, was totally cool I have to say.
So, onto the Coffeshops, they decriminalized cannibis and so the police can focus more on stopping the heroin and hard drugs in the city. Really it is not legal, it is just tolerated, and the coffeeshop owners do pay taxes even though they are selling cannibis. They are not allowed to advertise it and the menus are usually somewhat hidden. It was mind blowing to go in and see people just sitting there rolling and smoking, or walking around and they are smoking. When, I first got in and I went to sit outside the hostel, right beside me a guy was rolling one, I just couldn't believe it, so weird. I know it is "out there" in Canada but not like this.
There are over 200 coffeeshops in Amsterdam, and all different styles, with all different products, so wild!
Very cool thing, the Bulldog, the hostel I was staying at, it is said they have the 1st coffeshop in Amsterdam. It is a huge chain, they have hostels, hotels, bars, souvenir shops and coffeeshops, there is even a hotel I believe in western Canada.
Here are a few pics of the coffeeshop and souvenir shop. They are very well known, so I picked a great place to stay and as I have already mentioned it lived up to thier reputation.
Ok, so we walked through quite a few areas in the RLD, and there is a spot called Nieuwmarkt Square (same as Newmarket), it was the official spot for public executions many years ago. They used a guillotine and local legend was that the heads would roll down the only slightly sloped street with a trail of blood and that street is called "Bloodstraat". Kinda morbid I know, but a bit of history.
here is a pic of Nieuwmarkt square, and John in it again.
At the end of the tour, our great our guide took us all to a bar and bought us a shot of Jager.
this is the bar, located downstairs of one of the hostels
We all sat and chilled there after that 2-3 hr walk. It really was a great tour, lots of information and good to learn some things that you would otherwise not get or get false information. We all decided to leave there and went followed our tour guide to meet some other people, there was Seth from the states, he was living in A-dam (and he loves Canadians....thanks Seth!),he had some visitors with him, Beth and Michelle from NY, Stacey who was also a tour guide, she was from the states also and went to school here as did CC from San Fran, and John our tour guide was actually from Ireland and came to A-dam to go to school as well. Some other tourists with us were Rafael and Simon, fellow Canadains, from Montreal/Quebec, Ottawa and then Tanya, Laura, Anna and myself. We walked around for a bit and then settled in at Basjoe coffeeshop, we all chatted and chilled and I told them all about my blog, so welcome to it everyone! I hope you enjoy it.
Just after midnight, they all sang "Happy Birthday" to me, and then the best gift ever was the owner of the shop gave me a special piece of cake........
this is James the owner
(just a note, it has been like 4-5 yrs since I have had a birthday cake, so this really made my bday). I shared with everyone and then the locals (lol) left and us tourists chilled for a bit and then made our way back to our hostel for a good nights sleep.
I have to say "thank you guys for a great birthday, was excellent to meet 11 new friends on my bday!
I know that seemed like a long day....
Day 34 Sun. May 24 (My Birthday)
Got up early and made it in time for breakfast, sat with Tanya. Then went up and got ready to go on the other walking tour, of the history of Amsterdam. I met another roommate, Anna, she was from London and she was travelling on her own, just a wkend vaca, so she came along on the tour. We met at Dam Square at the monument...
Ruth was our tour guide for today, and I apologize there was so much information in the this tour and alot of the history and I can't remember it all, but if you ever want to know about the history of Amsterdam, you can google it and I am sure you will read all the same information I got. So for this entry I have added some pics with explanations of the things I remember and some of the highlights you could say, it was about a 3hr tour and very informative, again informative. Thanks Ruth!
Okay, so we started at Dam Square and she gave explained the beginning of Amsterdam. The city grew around a dam on the Amstel River in the late 1100's. The Royal Palace used to be Town hall.
The populations of Amsterdam is 751 000, and funny there is about 600 000 bicycles, it seems that everyone rides a bike, there are some motorcycles, and mopeds, and of course cars. Probably the biggest crime here is bicycle theft as there are over thousands stolen a year, lol.
There is over 3.5 million visitors a year in Amsterdam, it is one of the top visited counties in the world, of course it is.....well known for it's tolerant character, who wouln't want to go there and visit.
A bit of information about the houses here, as you may have seen in some of the other pics, they are very narrow and high, with decorative gable tops. They have very narrow stairs inside and a pulley outside to take objects up to upper floors, and so they lean forward a bit in order to avoid things crashing into the house if moving something on the pulley on a windy day. Don't quote me on this but I am pretty sure the guide said that the houses are structurally made of wood and then the brick is added outside. You can see in one of the pics below, there are steel like staples in the front of the house and these run from the front to the back and they keep the bricks and structure in line to avoid leaning but there are alot of homes that are leaning to the side, as you will also see in the pics. They are very interesting buildings, the height of the homes has something to do with the government taxing people to place the pilings which were wood sunk into soft soil, and some people were not good at it or did it incorrectly and houses would lean and then of course it would affect the homes next to them, so the government would tax based on how wide your house was, and so the narrower the better. The majority of houses date back to the 18th century.
this particular pic shows a gap between these 2 houses, and at the top you see the pulley
in this one you can really seen how they lean
this one is just to show how the tons of bikes line along the bridges and everywhere
on this one you can kinda see the steel staple thing I was talking about just above the shutters
and the same house, the white square in the center which sorry I can't remember the name of it, was what they used years ago to identify someones house instead of numbers
this is the oldest house in Amsterdam and as you see it is all wood, called "Houten Huis" meaning wooden house
this is in an area where there is kinda like geared to income housing but it is limited only to woman who are unwed, with out without children, and there is a church there also, another catholic area
Here is the smallest house in Amsterdam, (3 1/2 ft wide), and the one next to it is the 2nd smallest. Yes, people still live there
This house is Trippenhuis, owner by the wealthy Trip Family and is the largest house (72 ft wide)
sorry couldn't get a straight on shot of it.
this is one of the catholic hidden churches, the 4th&5th floors are the chapel and it fits over 200 people in there, again most of Amsterdam is Protestant so the Catholic churches are usually hidden, or disguised.
this is the old Jewish neighbourhood and it looks more modern because back in the time of the depression, they tore down the old homes for wood, and then rebuilt years later.
in this pic, you can just see the bridge which is the oldest and highest bridge I think, but I took the pic this way to see how the homes go right to the water of the canal, so wild....watch out when the water rises.
Oh ya, apparently the canal is flushed through several times a month I think it was, so good to know that it is cleaner then it looks, still wouldn't go in it.
This last pic of the tour was a small piece of art in the road. It just appeared one day, apparently the artist came to this spot one evening and pulled up the cobble stone and placed his art there, the government removed it but then the locals fought to have it put back, it kind of symbolizes the whole RLD, first it being an anonymous artist and the anonymous hand and breast of the client and woman and then there is a lock in the corner. Something like that.
So, that was the free walking tour, free for me and for you. Sorry if I sounded alittle technical along the way, but wanted to inform you the same way I was, lol. I am really glad I did both those tours and there is another one coming up, as I was very interested to learn about Amsterdam and well I did and so did you. :)
After that, Anna and I took a walk around and then found a spot to just sit and relax after all the walking again, I bumped into Seth, Beth a nd Michelle chatted quickly. Oh ya and on the tour, a couple of girl recognized me from the coffeeshop that I was at the night before, I guess hard to miss me since I was the one that everyone was singing to.
We walked back to the hostel, just a pic along the way...
me in a shoe, heehee
We got to the room, chilled for a bit and then went to find a restuarant to eat, we ended up at a nice little Italian place, good food, and again, after eating a cat walks along through the restuarant...weird.
We finished and Anna wanted to see some of the RLD at night so we wandered along for awhile and we met a young couple from Australia, Stephanie and Andy, so all of us headed back to the hostel to hang out and there we found Tanya, so we all sat in the bar and chilled and chatted. Then we decided to take another walk around the area, got some pics
this Anna, me and Tanya
charlies angels.....lol
Andy and Steph
This is me with some other friends, we named them but I lost that information...crappy as they were some hilarious names
just a night view of one of the many canals
another tid bit of information...there are 165 canals in Amsterdam and 1281 bridges, and I am sure I took pics of quite a few but not all of them
just a random shot, of an intersting bike, and I saw more that were decorated all different ways, kinda neat
After our little journey, of stopping at a couple of coffeshops to check them out and a bar "players" I think it was called, we all decided to head home, I stayed up for awhile down in the lounge and chatted with Eddie the security doorman, he was working the reception. Very cool guy, thanks for the company Eddie!
Day 35 Mon. May 25
Tanya, Anna and I went down for breakfast, they were both leaving today. After Tanya went her own way to go explore and Anna and I were going to head to the beach with some locals she met. First we decided to go to the Von Gogh museum
I have to say I was rather disappointed, you pay 15 euro and there is high security, you have to leave your bags at the coat check and then walk through with a headset and listen to the information about the painitngs, even the building was boring. I was more impressed with the original small sketches of his work, but what do I know about art. It was a long walk there and a long walk back and the weather seemed to turn a little overcast, so we decided not to do the beach.
More fun pics along the way...."Superstar in the shoes" haha!
you can barely see me but I am between the m and the s
We got back to the hostel and Anna stayed and chilled while I went to do some more touring. I decided to go see the Hash, Marijuana and Hemp Museum, was very interesting, shows the history of hemp and the controversy of marijuana and hash all over the world, they had newspaper clips of people that were sentenced for growing, or posession of the drug and the sad part was that if it was a teenager, thier parents were sentenced also, crazy! Then I went into the Hemp museum as it was free after that one, walked through and learnt some more interesting facts. Got some pics of hemp plants.
this is the cannibis college, they grow downstairs and you can go in and find out whatever information you want about marijuana
Now onto the Exotic Museum, I already told you abit about that and put the pic up in the RLD tour section. Was interesting and there was a whole S&M floor and there was a board with pics of Madonna back in the days of her crazy times.
I got back to the hostel and Anna had met a few blokes, so we chatted quick and then went for a bite to eat, today was Chinese, was good, and no cat this time......lol
We headed back to the bar in the hostel and had a drink with the boys and we chatted with Djana the bartender there, she is very cool! We met Valter, he is from portugal and lives in Northern Ireland, Tom, from Ann Arbor, Michigan (someone close to home) and he is doin some travelling around Europe also, and then Mike, from NY and some of his friends can't remember all the names, anyways.
Djana is above me, you know Anna, Valter is the one in the hat, Tom in front of him and then Mike is the dude with the sunglasses
Then Stewart and Matt came in and they were from California, they were a couple and very cool guys, Matt was telling me about how in California, well the states, the doctors give out the cards for medicinal marjiuana, and he had one, not that he needed it in Amsterdam, but anyways. Anna had to go to catch her coach back to London, and I stayed there with everyone and chatted away, I was running some ideas for things in Amstedam past them all and they really liked them and we all had some good laughs, was a great time. Until, Mike got alittle messy, and so Tom, Valter and I kept trying to hide out from him, was so annoying, stupid when someone can't handle thier booze and smoking, then just don't do it. Even the staff was picking on him, was funny.......good night!
Another pic of me, Tom and Valter, after we took a walk for some snacks
It started to rain and there was a cool lightning show outside, very wild.
So another great day in Amsterdam, meeting new people and making new friends.
Welcome to my blog gang!
Oh and by the way everyone, I have decided that this blog is going to be part of my portfolio for doing some marketing and writing for hostels or other things……….I hope at least, (and no one take my idea…..lol), so you need to become a follower and leave comments…..cool, thanks
Off to bed very late.
Day 36 Tues. May 26
Went down for breakfast and there was Valter and then Tom, so we all ate together and chilled out, they were both leaving today too. That is one of the downsides of travelling, as I think I mentioned before, you meet great people along the way and they leave, but great thing with technology these days you can stay in touch.
So the 3 of us just stayed around the hostel for most of the day as it was the first rainy day and we just chilled out, hung out with Djana at the bar. Hi Djana! :)
Then Valter was the first to go and it is so sad to see people leave here, they show up so happy and when it is time to leave they are so sad, I am not looking forward to leaving. So then there was just me and Tom, we went online for a bit and I printed off a resume, after chatting with Djana about it and I dropped it at the reception to apply with Bulldog, thought I'd give it a shot see what happens. Then we decided to go get some food and found a nice little place off the beaten path, I had steak and it was very good, and I had to take a pic of the store across the way that we had to look at while we ate, was funny, but this is what you get in Amsterdam.
After that, I decided to take a nap, food coma, I set my alarm to get down in time to say good bye to Tom and I missed him, he was gone. Sorry Tom.
I wanted to add this quote that Tom gave me that he found, thought it was pretty cool
So I was alone again, not to worry, I grabbed my puter again and logged on to do some researching and while I sat at the bar, I met Kelly from Texes and we chatted away, along with Bryan the bartender (my helpful guy with the doctor situation). I also met Burgandy early who was staying in my room and Nicole, and chatted with them quickly.
So I finished searching things and got a plan for the next day and off to bed.
Day 37 Wed. May 27
Ok, up and did the breakfast thing, sat with Burgandy and chatted for a bit and we decided to do a canal cruise later today. I went and got ready and headed out to go to Volendam, it is a small fishing village, and there is a cheese & shoe making factory there. I walked down to Central Station to catch a bus
it was only about a 20 min ride, and got there. I went through the small museum that had about the history of the town and there was some pretty neat stuff.
this 2 pics are some art that was all done with cigar bands, pretty cool
just some random pics
Next I got back on the bus and went to the cheese & shoe factory. They wear the original dutch outfits, thought that was very neat. They do a tour but I was on my own, I got a quick run down of how they make the cheese but not the shoes, but here are some pics.
I left and caught a bus back to Amsterdam Central, I went in and bought my train ticket to Brugge, Belguim for Saturday. I got back to the hostel and I decided to book for a couple more days, I had a few more things I wanted to do and see and like I said I was really enjoying myself here, great people and great place. I went up to the room and the girls were napping so I went down to the bar and logged online for alittle bit, then Burgandy came down and we went on the canal cruise. It was different to see everything from the canal view, we didn't go down any smaller canals as the boat wouldn't fit, but we saw a bit of stuff.
Here are pics
this is actually considered a mansion (well Amsterdam version) the servants enter in the very bottom door, and you see it is quite wide.
this one is just to show how the tons of bikes line along the bridges and everywhere
we finished the cruise and headed back home, and we met up with Nicole, and the 3 of us went for a walk about and we stopped in a few of the coffeeshops, had to make sure we went and saw the Bulldog, so we sat there for awhile and then back to the hostel. I went online again and I chatted with another new buddy Dan
he is a friend of Mike's (the annoying guy I mentioned earlier ..lol) also from NY, and he was on his own while all of his buddies were busy partaking in the RLD doors and windows, so we chilled in the lounge and chatted with the Jamel and Eddie working the reception desk. Then I finally decided to go crash.
Day 38 Thur. May 28
I slept in today, so no breakfast. Got dressed and ready and went down to the Dam Square to do the Alternative walking tour, this one was about the squatters, the graffiti and the coffee shops and just some interesting history. I don't remember too much about it but I have added some pics.
these are 2 of the oldest squatter buildings in Amsterdam, 26yrs old, and just like everything else squatting is just accepted, once any property is vacant for more then a year, it may be subject to squatting. The people that take over can even open businesses there and everything and they live for free......very strange concept, but this is Amsterdam.
Here is some of the graffiti which is outside the RLD area
After that was done, I headed to the Anne Frank house to go and check it out. I remember reading the book years ago and going through the house was very interesting. After the family was taken by the Nazi's, and the war was over, Mr. Frank was the only survivor and he returned to Amsterdam. He decided that the house they lived in and the secret annex would never have furniture in it again. One of his pervious staff found Anne's diary and gave it to him and that is how it got published, he sent it to someone he knew and it got published. The house was original, it was the same as it was left, even in Anne's room the pictures that her and her sister pasted on the wall were still up and they just put glass casings around them, it was actually very moving to see. There were no camera's allowed inside so I only took pics of the outside.
I went back to the hostel and bumped into Dan and Mike, so I chatted with them for awhile and then up to my room. I met another new roommate and a Canadian at that and finally someone else from Ontario, Melissa, she was doing a little travelling, so her and Nicole and I went and took a walk around for abit, as she had just got in. We went back to Basjoe's and talked with James the owner for a bit and then back home and I turned in early after going online quickly and chatting with Dan again.
Nicole, me and Melissa-(in that order)
Day 39 Fri. May 29
Got up and had breakfast with Melissa, then I had to try and book a hostel for my next stop in Brugge, got one finally and then went up and cleaned up, gathered my laundry and put a load in. While I waited for it, met another new roommate Laura, another Aussie and she was living in London, chatted for a bit and Melissa, her and I decided we would go check out a sex show tonight. We all went out on the roof terrace for alittle while and chilled and then once it got dark we went to take a walk. As we were leaving the hostel, Laura asked the reception Sanders a recommendation for a sex show to go see, he took us over to Eddie and we all talked about it, and then Jim, the manager of the hostel join in the conversation and I have to say I don't know how it looks that I have applied for a job and now discussing what sex show I was going to. So I took a moment and introduced myself to him so he could place a face to the name and CV, we talked about some ideas that I had for the hostel and other ideas for businesses in Amsterdam.
Here is a pic of Eddie on the left and then Sanders Celine and Jim on the right
Thanks for the pic guys!
We finally decided to walk along and see what the prices were for a show and we ended up at the Moulin Rouge, it was 35 euro which incl 2 drinks.
We stood outside and talked with the owner alittle and then Jim walked by and chatted as well, he knew the owner of Moulin Rouge quite well. Then we went in and I don't want to say too much but there was 4 different shows, one of a woman and a pen, one of a woman and a very long string, one of a woman and a banana, and lastly the worst of all was the male and female......it was completely scripted, you could tell cuz the guy was kinda counting in his head and he would give signals to the girl, it was so robotic, and I am pretty sure he was wearing something as I don't think it is possible to do a show every say 20 min, but anyways. So that was my experience with a sex show, had to do one, I am in Amsterdam!
Made our way back to the hostel, got a good pic of the police on thier bicycles
To our room and to bed, gotta leave tomorrow.... :(
Day 40 Sat. May 30
Got up for breakfast and met Melissa and Nicole. I went up to the room, packed my stuff, and took it down to the luggage room. Grabbed my puter and logged on to research some info for where I was going and what I was gonna do in Brugge. I went for a quick walk down the canal for the last time and took a couple of pics.
I just wanted to add these 2, the first one is a urinal for men
this one is what used to be the toilets on the street for woman, years ago some woman petitioned that there should be toilets out on the street for woman so they don't have to pay in places just as the men can, and so they installed them and after awhile the drug addicts took them over for shooting up and what have you, so they closed them up and now just use them for posters, advertising, and ya some places you have to pay like .20-.40 cents to use the washroom, Amsterdam is not the only place though
I chatted with Nicole quick, grabbed my bags and said my goodbyes to Djana and Bryan, no one else was there so I left a note. I headed to the train station and I was quite a bit early so I sat and had my sandwich and half a brownie from lastnight and waited. I will continue the rest on the next entry for Belguim since I will be there this afternoon.
Just wanted to add these couple of pics, the first one is a sign that was behind the desk of the hostel and I am sure most of the places have the same kind of sign. You will never see this anywhere else in the world
in case you can't read it
"no tobacco smoking - tobacco substitutes available at the bar - cannibis smoking YES"
and this is a pic of a map of Amsterdam, it looks like part of a spider web and that is why people get stuck there
I hope everyone enjoyed my adventures in Amsterdam, I did very much and I plan on making a trip there every year. Once again, it was great to meet everyone along the way, and please keep in touch and keep on reading my blog.
To all the staff at Bulldog, again thank you for a great stay.......it really is refreshing to see staff that are always happy and enjoy their jobs and I felt very safe and comfortable at the hostel, Thanks again!
Take Care and until the next entry.......see u all soon!
