If I had to give one piece of advice to anyone traveling in Europe, it would be to make a friend. Don’t force it, but take advantage of the opportunities. These acquaintances on trains/planes/etc can, at the very least, translate announcements (which are often times VERY important)! But in most cases, they are very familiar with wherever the both of you are headed and can offer very valuable advice and tips on where to stay, what to see, what NOT to see, and basically any essential information for the area.
Such was the case for our train ride from Berlin to Amsterdam Friday afternoon. We met a forty-year old gentleman from Berlin named Henrik, a graphic designer, freelance writer, charity cyclist from Berlin. Thanks to the thousands of miles of biking under his belt, Henrik has been anywhere and everywhere in Europe. He was so helpful with information and just a fun guy to be around! He even got off the train with us at Amsterdam to meet his friend (a local) to offer advice on where to find hotels. Given that our plan was to just waltz off the train into a hotel, this was very much appreciated.
After we found a little place to stay, we decided we just HAD to see the infamous red light district! Observations: legalized prostitution is an equal-opportunity employer; the beautiful, skinny ladies were few and far between, period; and it was fascinating! …weird to stare; don’t stare.
Three and half hours of sleep later…
We really wanted to see more of the countryside of Amsterdam, so we opted to take a morning bus tour to some villages. Out tour guide, Astrid, was absolutely amazing, speaking five languages just on our tour! They don’t split people up based on language; the company just has their tour guides give it in all languages necessary! (In this case: English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian.)
Our first bus stop was at Zaanse Schans, a cheese and windmill farm with a fun, informational cheese-making presentation. Interesting facts: only 10% of the milk drawn from cattle and goats can be used to make cheese; the really good stuff ages for two years; and you CAN still poop after visiting a cheese farm.
The second stop was at the quaint fishing village of Volendam, filled with hard workers and lots of piers! From their we took a boat cruise to the former island of Marken. Former island because there is now a road attaching it to the mainland. The windmills were mainly used to push water from the lakes to the North Sea, and the country gained 40% more land over hundreds of years of this draining process. It was very clear where the lake beds used to be, as there were HUGE flat fields.
These fields are obviously very wet because you can’t completely drain a lake, so someone had the brilliant idea to wear wooden shoes in the fields! Thanks to this genius, we have the privilege of visiting a clog-making shop, which was one of the neatest things I’ve seen! A worker gave us a live demonstration on how their machinery turns a block of wood into a clog, along with the finishing process.
Of course we had to try on our own pairs! Too bad we only have a couple backpacks to get us through this trip. Otherwise, Steven might have needed to build me another shoe shelf!
As if the lake and clogs weren’t neat enough, the town of Marken is unique because every house, building, gate is the same grassy shade of green. Also, all houses have one-of-a-kind front doors and unique curtain displays to keep up with the Jones’.
Among the good advice Henrik gave us about Amsterdam, I think the best tip was to rent a bike to ride around. The city was big enough that this turned out to be an AMAZING idea! With as many wrong turns as we made on the bikes, we would have never gotten anywhere on foot! At least the bikes help you correct much faster.
So with our bikes, the second half of our day started. We rode to the Van Gogh Museum to begin. I LOVED the way the museum was set up! The exhibits (more or less) went with his art life span, showing the growth in him as an artist. The great descriptions also made reference to the artists who inspired/taught him, and their works were presented in the exhibits as well. This was very helpful in relating influences to the pieces during periods of his life. Fabulous!
We then rode to the Anne Frank House (Huis), which is absolutely a must for any Amsterdam visitors! I think the fascination with Anne Frank is that it really personalizes the stories and fears of Jews during World War II. Visiting this house only furthers that personalization, when you stand where they stood, reading excerpts of the diary and descriptions as you trail through the rooms of the three-story house. The “modern” part of the museum finishes with displays on tolerance and discrimination in the current state of the world, as it was Otto Frank’s mission to spread awareness.
We couldn’t leave Amsterdam without having a pancake! A REAL pancake! We stopped at a lovely little pancake house on the canal during our bike ride back, where we got the traditional pancake dish: one giant pancake stuffed with apples and bacon, topped with powdered sugar and caramel syrup. Surprisingly, it was DEEEE - LISH!!
Time to switch from pancakes to waffles… Belgium here we come!
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i ate there!!!
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