Warning: This blog post could have a mature rating. If you are offended by vague references to drug taking (not mine!) and a little about sex, then just skip this post and find a nice book on kittens to settle into.
Out of the blue in Hull, we discovered that there was a ferry cruise overnight to Holland. We did a bit of researching and found a two for one deal to Amsterdam. I didn't know much about Amsterdam other than the things that are normally illegal are suddenly legal in Amsterdam. Which makes for a whole different tourist market than Amsterdam would receive otherwise (and that you get to experience on the coach ride.... yay!) Armed with this exhaustive array of knowledge about Amsterdam we boarded a mini cruise ship and set sail. It takes twelve hours or so to get to Rotterdam and then a 1.5 hr bus ride up to Amsterdam. The cabin was your basic windowless hole in the ship with bunk beds and en suite, almost exactly the standard of a first class sleeper train in Vietnam haha.
Graham lounging in luxury before the top bunk went down. You can see me in the mirror due to the lack of manoeuvring space.
We arrived in the city after a harrowing bus ride with some teenage british boys, that had obviously been allowed their first bus ride without mummy and were going crazy bragging about the amount of drugs they were going to take. They were going to have a greeeeeeen time if you care. We didn't.
We hopped off the bus and went for a wander to escape the boys and ducked into your friendly neighbourhood sex museum. I was in two minds about whether to post this, but the museum was in fairly good taste, and you are in Amsterdam- you have to do something crazy right? They had some really old art work from Japan and all sorts of different works from artists like Toulouse-Lautrec and Vargas. They also had the artwork below (avert your eyes if you have been sidetracked from your book on kittens!)
Yep, that's Amsterdam for you
Apart from the seedy underbelly of a flourishing naughty museum trade, Amsterdam was beautiful! And very frozen. We wanted to do a canal tour, but alas, the canals were frozen solid... so we pulled a miracle and walked on water instead.
People walking and ice skating atop the canals
Graham on the canal, the bridge behind is where the canal boats usually float under
Melaina next to a canal boat frozen in place
After this we walked up to the Anne Frank Museum. I am assuming that most people know who Anne Frank is (she was a jew who wrote a diary during the holocaust that was published after her death in Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. She and her family hid for many years to escape persecution by the Nazis, and were enventually given up to the Nazis by an unknown person.) I highly recommend reading the diary if you have not. The Anne Frank museum is in the actual building and secret annex where the family hid. It is a beautifully done museum with all of the details, photos and even interviews with her father, Otto Frank. The diary and all of the extra pages filled with stories and poems are there too. There is a long line outside, and you go in through Otto Frank's factory, then follow it through and up into the Annex
The factory where the secret annex is hidden
The entrance to the secret annex.
You weren't allowed to take photos inside, but I thought this time it might be a good reason, so I let it be. The annex is unfurnished, because after the family were given up and taken away, the Nazis came and removed all of the furniture. The father Otto Frank, was the sole surviving member of the Frank family, and he wished the museum to remain unfurnished, without replica pieces. Inside there were photos that had been done with furniture, so you would have an idea of how it looked, and there were scale models. It was a very moving place, all the original posters that were pasted onto the wall by Anne were still there, framed by glass, the wall paper and kitchen sink remained too. It was larger than I imagined, but a small place to fit so many people. They also had the original dockets from when they were processed into the different concentration camps, the yellow star of david badges and camp uniforms. It was very sad but a lovely tribute.
After a rest in our hotel we popped out to visit the worlds oldest distillery. Bols produce cocktail liqueurs and all sorts of tasty drinks. They have also been doing it since 1575! Bols also produce tiny ceramic houses with liqueur to give to first class passengers on KLM airlines
Melaina with the collection of ceramic houses.
Bols has a brand experience, where you get to play around with taste and smell, and more importantly- try it! They make around 38 different liquers and countless other alcoholic beverages through the ages. The first thing you get to do is smell about 20 plus liqueurs and guess what the smell is- we got well under half correct. It's harder than you think!
Smelling the liqueurs
After the brand experience you get a coktail of your choosing (strawberry cheesecake for me!) and two other shots to sip of your choosing, they are verrry tasty.
After this we decided to go and see the famous red light district, which contains some of the more beautiful buildings in Amsterdam, and a whole lot of.... the dodgy stuff. The main street is a huge tourist attraction and is safe enough, we didn't go down the side streets that seemed to go forever with the customary red lit windows with the 'ladies of the night' inside.
First glimpse of the red light district. The red lit windows are filled with ladies plying their wares. There are a few shows that you can go to, but it wasn't something we did.
The famous red lit windows, where the ladies stand and wave at you in skimpy underwear.
Outside the Moulin Rouge stage show
Pretty building along from the redlight district.
The next day we went for a massive walk around and to the Van Gogh museum. This has around 300 of his art works, and also a great deal of work by people who inspired him. They had a few of the very famous ones, like the sunflowers and his self portraits. It was a very good museum and gave you a lot of information on his life, and how he was influenced by his surrounds, people and his own state of mind.
There were also some stone worms outside.
Amsterdam has some amazing sights... and some powerful smells. I'm sure everyone knows that marijuana in all its forms is legal there, along with magic mushrooms and who knows what else. It is bizarre though, to be walking down the street, and someone is smoking a joint in front of you- and it is perfectly legal. It is also advertised blatantly too- I have one of the funnier signs below (danger, naughty word coming up...)
It is a little abused by tourists, but it is also a big selling point, so although the locals think it is somewhat unclassy- the tourists love it.
Amsterdam also has fabulous cheese and amazing cheese shops where you get to try about 20 varieties and send yourself into a cheese coma.
Om nom nom nom
No idea why they chose this name? Maybe it sounded exotic haha
Amsterdam is also stunningly over run with bicycles. In a very good way. The locals all ride around looking beautiful and slim on pretty bicycles with baskets and big boxes for their children to ride in. We were very very jealous
Bicycle parking- extreme
We were very sad to leave and wished we could move there. It is an amazing city, so vibrant youthful and cultural- but with a whole lot of history too. Unfortunatly, although everyone speaks english, you probably have to learn some dutch to get a job, so Tot Ziens or Dag dear readers.
The canals were very sad to see us leave too
