Amsterdam
Hello from Amsterdam! Boy did we have a train ride here... I think Pete already mentioned it, but it requires at least another mention. A handball team having finished their season in Frankfurt was on the way to Amsterdam for clubbing and parties and then were insistent on us drinking beer with them. One fellow in particular was very friendly and asked us what we were up to and if we knew any good discos in Amsterdam, Having no knowledge of this type of thing, we told them we were counting a friend to get us places, but wished them the best. Oh... and apparently because I drank a beer without removing the neck wrapper, I am gay. They kept saying "the one with the beard... He's the loose one!" Oh well....
Speaking of that friend, when we arrived in Amsterdam Centraal station, Derek jumped on me and welcomed us to Amsterdam. After a quick pee, we got on some bikes Derek had rented for us and rode to his apartment in the eastern portion of the city. Riding a bike is a fun change from navigating metros. It left us a little less knowledgeable about where the hell anything is in the city, but with Derek as our guide, we were set. His place is really nice and near a bunch of really cool things and we settled for a bit. Our first night, we just took a bike tour of some cool sights in the city and it was really wonderful.
Yesterday, we took the entire day and saw sights, biked the city, toured downtown and were given the general sight-seeing tour by Derek. Lots of biking. Lots of pedaling. Lots of work for your legs. We had Ethiopean food for dinner at a place where Derek is a personal friend and met up with his friends for bowling and stops at a few bars.
Today we did a bit of the same thing -- biked the city with stops at the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank House. Really interesting things to be seen and lots of good times. We did get lost trying to bike our own way from the Anne Frank House to Derek at the pizza shop where he works... Derek gives some interesting directions and we all have no knowledge of the city, but we eventually made it for some delish pizza and burgers...
The plan for tonight: bike to the red light district, check it out, and then hang out in a sit-down coffeeshop.
- Colin
- Saturday May 26, 2007 from Derek's apartment
